He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
by gentlegroove
Summary: Bella is stuck in a rut. Just when things seem the lowest, in walks smooth and sexy Edward Cullen, a hotshot lawyer and frequent customer of the flower shop Bella works at. Smart girls don't fall for guys like him, but he might turn out to be exactly what she needs.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, so this is my first attempt at fanfic. I had this idea bouncing around in my head, and finally put pencil to paper when I was without power for a solid week.  
**

**Big hugs and lots of cheesecake to Cat for agreeing to beta this creature for me! :)**

--

I was 25 now. I'd just had my birthday the week before, and figured it was a pivotal point - a time to actually take stock of my life and what I had accomplished thus far.

The results were depressing.

Twenty five years, a quarter of a century, and what did I have to show for it? I lived in a rented house, shared with a roommate no less, worked in a flower shop, and had no actual love life to speak of. The first two weren't entirely bad, as I did have a great roommate who had become my best friend over the four plus years that we had lived together. I found Alice's name in the college newspaper, and we moved in together shortly after graduation. She was the same age as me, but shorter, spunky, and optimistic to a fault. I studied English and languages, she focused on fashion design. I was definitely the more cynical of the two, but we provided a nice balance to one another. Honestly, she was my roommate, best friend, and chief fashion adviser; I don't know what I'd do without her.

Ah, graduation. Yes I did have a degree; I majored in English. I'd really always wanted to write, but lost my motivation after college ended. I suffered a spectacular breakup with James, the guy who decided after 3 years together that he "couldn't be tied down to just one woman" after we graduated. I was heartbroken afterwards, got lazy, and the muse left me. Bitch.

I worked in a couple of retail jobs over the years, mostly bookstores, but even that didn't hold my interest long. The ten months I had spent at "Eternally Yours Flowers and Gifts" was the longest I'd held a job since high school.

The shop did fairly good business, but still left me plenty of time to surf the internet or read, which was part of its charm. The pay wasn't great, but I did well enough to pay my half of the rent and bills, with a little left over. My truck was on its last legs, so I didn't mind walking the 2 miles to work most of the time. I typically only had one night a week where I closed after dark, and Alice would come pick me up and take me home.

It was unusually busy in the shop for a Thursday afternoon, or any day of the week for that matter. I had just finished taking one phone order when a customer walked in. He looked confused at first, and then asked if I had a catalog to look at so he could pick out something "extra special". I dug out one of the order catalogs and ushered him to a nearby table, when the phone rang again. I told him to sit and have a look and then excused myself to go back to the counter to get the phone. I grabbed a pen and notepad before answering to jot down the order.

"Hello, Eternally Yours."

"Yes, hi. I need to have a bouquet of yellow roses delivered on behalf of Mr. Edward Cullen. The account number is…."

I recognized the voice of the woman right away. As I started to write down the info, the customer walked up and threw down the sizable catalog right on top of the pad I was using, directly in my line of vision. I just barely got my hand out in time.

"Sir, I am on the phone with another customer right now. Please give me a moment and I will be right with you," I said, cupping my hand over the mouthpiece.

The female voice on the phone continued, "Did you get that? Send to Miss Ro—"

The obnoxious customer started again, "I just have no clue what I'm looking for here. I really want to get her something special. Something that says 'It's you that I really love, and that fling with your best friend didn't mean a thing.'"

"Sir, **please**." At my emphasis on the last word, he caved finally and took the catalog back to the table and flopped down into a chair.

I removed my hand from the mouthpiece and hurriedly jotted down:

_E. Cullen_

_1 dozen y. roses_

_Rose H_

"Yes ma'am, I'll get it taken care of. Thank you, goodbye."

Sighing, I hung up the phone and went over to help the man who'd apparently had an affair with his girlfriend's best friend.

I glanced over at the clock on the wall. _Just three more hours, _I thought to myself, while trying to help the cheater come up with just the right arrangement and message to send. After settling on a nice bouquet of purple hyacinth, conveying 'I'm sorry, please forgive me.', the jerk paid and left the shop. I went back over to the counter to finish work on the phone orders. Right on top was the one I had taken not 15 minutes earlier.

_Ah, Mr. Edward Cullen_. I was pretty familiar with the name at this point. He sent flowers at least once a week, to different women, always called in by the same woman, presumably his secretary. I remember thinking early on how this guy must be quite the super stud, but I had since gotten used to him being a regular customer. The message on the card was always the same…

**_Thanking you for a remarkable evening, Edward_**

I glanced back at the sheet I had written the order on.

"Crap, I didn't get a last name! Or an address!"

I couldn't very well call the lady back and admit that I didn't listen or get all of the information the first time around. Thinking for a minute, I was sure I recognized the name from a similar order about a month ago. I walked into the back room and dug into the filing cabinet for last month's orders. Finally, success! I found an order to "Miss Rosalie Hale," copied down the info and started on the arrangement of yellow roses.

About ten minutes later, the door in the back room opened.

"Hey Bells, got anything for me?"

"Yeah, Emmett. Nearly done here, and I have three others ready to go."

Emmett was the delivery guy, and quite the character. He was a very stout guy and full of muscles, but not so much that he looked like the Incredible Hulk or any other comic book character. He had the greatest disposition, and once you got past the intimidating appearance, there really was a sweet guy underneath. He'd worked at the florist longer than me, doing deliveries in the day. On weekends, he was a bouncer at a great club and bar called Molly Malone's. The muscles definitely came in handy there, though he rarely had to use them. Usually just a look and a flex, and whomever was causing trouble would back off in a heartbeat. Alice and I would go to the club on the nights he worked sometimes to hang out with him, have a few drinks, and dance. Well, Alice danced and I tried my best to keep up without breaking my shins. There were two floors at Molly's, first floor was the main dance floor with a small bar, the second floor was the larger bar with tables. Emmett usually worked the main floor, but ended up on the top floor with us where we would have drinks and conversation towards the end of the night.

"Coming to Molly's this weekend?" He asked, playfully swatting me in the arm. "It _is_ Ladies Night on Saturday, you know. Might be a good chance to snag you a man."

"Me? What about you?" I asked, indignantly.

"Uh, I don't really need a man, myself." He grinned, baby blues sparkling at me.

"Not a man, you clown." I punched him in the arm. "You're just as single as I am."

"Yeah, but I'm just selective. What's your excuse for the long drought?"

"I'm...it isn't...ooh, SHUT UP, EMMETT!" I said, exasperated. _Has it really been that long?_

He laughed his heartiest laugh and mussed with my hair. "You know I'm just messing with you, kiddo."

He wasn't going to get off that easily. "Emmett, you're only a year older than me," I huffed.

He let out an exaggerated sigh. "Sorry, enough talk about Bella's love life, or the lack thereof. I'll just get these orders out to the van. Ma'am." He nodded at me before walking back out to his van, flowers in tow.

I finished stewing while he was loading up, and he was back in about a minute later.

"Joking aside, are you and Alice going to come out this weekend? I'll need a break from all the horny guys that are sure to be out, and you two are always a blast to hang out with."

"Probably, though I'm not sure yet. Might depend on if she has plans with Jasper or not."

Jasper was Alice's boyfriend that she had been with for close to a year. They actually met at Emmett's club one weeknight; he was playing acoustic guitar and singing on the smaller stage upstairs. To hear her describe it, their eyes met and it was kismet. Fate. They've been pretty inseparable ever since.

"Well, I'll get going. That one ready?" He pointed at the yellow roses in front of me.

"Yep, another one for Cullen's Angels!" Emmett chuckled at that, as we'd come up with that nickname together weeks ago. "Take her away!"

"Thanks, Bells. I'm probably done after these, and I'm off tomorrow, so see you Saturday maybe?" He did his best pouty face for me.

"I can't say for certain Emmett, but you probably will, yes." He smiled his best cheesy smile, and I laughed at him. "Have a good night."

He waved at me as he walked away, and I resumed my duties of watching the clock and playing spider solitaire.

--

I couldn't have been happier it was Friday, even though I had no actual set plans for the weekend yet. Alice hadn't been around when I got home last night, and I came home to an empty house. She had left a note on the fridge about spending the night at Jasper's, so I didn't even get to mention Saturday night to her yet. I tried her cell phone, but just got voice mail. I ended up having breakfast, doing laundry, and then headed off to work.

I went in at 12 and was due to close the shop at 8. Friday was our only late night, as we typically closed at 6 during the week. I brought in a library copy of The Merchant of Venice, as mine had been missing for awhile now, and dove into it.

At about 7:45, I decided to go ahead and close up shop. I hadn't had so much as a phone call in the past two hours, so I figured I could close up, do a bit of tidying, and be out by 8. I locked the front door, flipped the open sign over, and started to sweep. The phone rang just as I was done sweeping and tidying up books and the display arrangements. I took my work smock off over my head and reached for the phone.

"Hello, Eternally Yours."

"Hiya!"

"Hey, Ali. Long time, no see!" I said, feigning hurt.

"Oh please, it's only been a day. Did you miss me that much?"

"Of course I did."

"Aww, I feel loved."

I heard a muffled voice in the background. "Don't be jealous, Jas, it's just Bella."

"Just Bella. Wow Alice, thanks for the ego boost."

"Girl, you know what I meant."

"Yeah, yeah. So, what do you all have planned for the evening?"

"We're going to a late movie in a little bit, and then I was thinking about spending the night over there again. Unless of course you need me at home."

I sighed. "No, of course you should go. I'll be fine, and at least one of us is having a healthy love life." I admittedly had to live vicariously through her in that area nowadays because I was experiencing a "drought," as Emmett had so eloquently put it.

"Yay, thanks Bella!" She clapped her hands together on the other side of the line. I could hear Jasper yell, "Thank you, Bella!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"And Bella, I know your Mr. Right is out there, you just haven't found him yet. He could be just behind the next door or something, you really never know."

"Alice, my luck never goes that far. If it were as easy as picking doors, I'd probably end up picking the door with the year's supply of Rice-A-Roni behind it instead of the grand prize."

She laughed, "Silly Bella, you'll see. Anyway, we could make up for tonight on Saturday night, just you and me. Wanna do something?"

"Actually, I was just talking to Emmett earlier, and..."

BAM, BAM, BAM!

I jumped and my heart started to thud. I looked up to see a dark figure at the door.


	2. Chapter 2

_BAM, BAM, BAM!_

_I jumped and my heart started to thud. I looked up to see a dark figure at the door_.

Chapter 2

"Bella? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just a second. There's someone at the door. I'll…I'll call you back," I said, and quickly hung up.

"Hey, open up!" the figure, obviously a man, yelled through the door.

"We're closed!" I shouted back at him.

"Come on! I want to talk to you!"

"I said I'm closed!"

"Just give me five minutes!"

I grabbed my purse and keys and yelled towards the door, "I'm leaving now!" I turned off the light and headed to the back room to wait for the coast to clear.

After about 15 seconds I didn't hear any more banging, so I let out a deep breath and started to relax. Just then, the phone started to ring. I poked my head out of the back room and skulked over to answer it, staying close to the wall and out of the line of sight from the front door.

I slowly picked up the receiver. "Hello?" I whispered.

"Bella?" It was Alice again.

"Yeah."

"You okay? You hung up so fast before. And why are you whispering?"

BAM, BAM! He was back, pounding at the door again.

"Hey, I thought you were closed!"

"What's that noise?" Alice asked.

"It's some guy who wants to come into the store."

"Is he cute?"

I glanced over without even thinking, "I can't tell, the decoration on the door is blocking most of his face…Alice, that is beside the point! He could be an angry robber or something."

"Robbers don't usually make scenes outside, Bella. It could just as easily be a millionaire wanting to place a huge flower order. Why don't you let him in? You might make a sale."

"I'm closed."

"That's no way to run a business, Bella. The customer is always right, you know. Plus it's not quite eight yet."

"I know, I know."

"HEY!" The man at the door shouted again.

"Just wait a minute!" I yelled back at him.

I took another deep breath. "Alright Alice, I'm going to go let him in."

"Go ahead Bella, I'll wait on the line."

"Okay, but stay by the phone, alright? If he starts to get scary, I'll use a code word and then you can hang up and call the police."

"Code word? Like what?"

"Uh…marshmallow."

"How in the world are you going to work 'marshmallow' into a conversation with a customer?"

"Alright fine, not 'marshmallow'. How about 'rosebud,' then? This is a flower shop, rosebud could work."

"Fine, I'll be right here. Go get that sale, tiger!"

I laid the phone down on the counter, face up so that Alice could hear the conversation, and then leisurely strolled over to the door. I was not about to rush for this irate man or would-be thief. I unlocked the deadbolt, cracked it open, and put on the best customer-friendly smile I could.

"How can I help you?"

The man at the door stood several inches taller than me, his hair all askew as though he had been running his fingers through it repeatedly. His eyes were wide, and his jaw muscle was working overtime. _Boy, does he look pissed_.

"You can help me by telling me what sort of moron fills the flower orders around here."

"Um, that would be Emmett." _Sorry to throw you under the bus, buddy._

He gave his jaw a break briefly and exhaled sharply. "May I please come in? I would like to discuss an order I made."

This guy suddenly seemed to have remembered his manners, so I figured it would be fine to let him in. And anyway if he did turn out to be nutty, I had Alice waiting on the other end of the line to call the cops.

"Please do," I said as I opened the door further and gestured inside the shop. He walked in, leaving a trace of something musky as he passed by me. _Sure smells nice for an angry robber type._

I walked over to the counter, flipped the lights on, and turned back around to face him. He was now at the counter, about a foot away from me. I hadn't got nearly as good a view in the dark, and I found myself almost gaping at him. He had auburn hair that looked crazy, though not in an escaped convict way. He was wearing a very nice, very expensive looking dark grey suit that was obviously tailor-made for him. He wasn't wearing a tie, and the top couple of buttons on his white shirt were undone. I looked at the small bit of his chest that was exposed for a second, marveling at how smooth it appeared. My gaze went up to his face finally, and his eyes came up and met mine at the exact same time. 

_God, was he just checking me out, too?_

I dismissed that thought and concentrated on looking into his eyes. They were a piercing shade of green, which I'm sure was due in no small part to his current state of mind. I realized that I was a little intimidated by those eyes, and slightly…turned on? His stare was so focused, and I immediately pictured him looking down on me that same way…

I blushed at the thought, and he noticed before I could turn away. The corners of his mouth started to turn up slightly, and his eyes softened a little. He eventually uncurled his fists and laid his hands flat on the counter in between us, maybe to put me at ease.

"So, uh, about your order?" I finally said.

"Yes. I would like a credit, a new order placed, and an apology from this Emmett person."

"Excuse me?"

"Yesterday, I had an order called in for one dozen yellow roses to be delivered to Miss Rosanna Hamilton. Miss Hamilton never received her flowers, but Miss Rosalie Hale did. The mix-up has caused me a great deal of distress."

Oh my god, so this is Edward Cullen. **The** Edward Cullen, American Gigolo himself. I replayed back what he said in my head, and was highly amused at the image I saw.

"What kind of distress?" I asked as innocently as I could.

"I don't think that's any of your business," he said, tensing again. His lips went back into the straight line they were previously, and his eyes got a hard edge to them once more. I felt a little guilty at egging him on like this, but couldn't seem to stop myself.

"You requested an apology. I should at least know what it is I'm...um, _Emmett_ is apologizing for."

"For screwing up my day, if you must know."

I smiled at this. "Ah, so you were forced to make restitution then?"

"What?"

"You had to take this woman out, probably dinner and dancing, spend some money on her, am I right?"

His jaw clenched and I couldn't help but find this amusing for some reason, so I laughed.

"My god, you had to spend _all day_ with her, didn't you? Did you just come from dropping her off?"

"That is **none** of your business."

"That is what happened, isn't it?"

That _had _to be it. I sniffed the air to see if I could make out any traces of perfume on him, but could only smell the flowers in the shop and that musky scent of his. I was in awe of this Rosalie Hale. She managed to get the super stud to give up his entire day just because he sent her flowers that she was never supposed to receive. A Friday, no less, which I'm sure he should have spent working instead of doing…whatever it is he did with her. I wondered if I could get this woman to give me lessons.

"It's none of your fucking business what happened!" His face darkened, and even his eyes seemed to get a shade darker. I noticed that a vein started to bulge in his forehead, making it look as though an alien implant was trying to get out or something. I had obviously hit a nerve, and he started to get visibly more upset. I, in turn, started to get anxious.

_Okay Bella, that might have been a little over the line_. I was initially amused that I had him squirming a bit, but now he just looked fuming. I couldn't help but be a little…I don't know…_sad_ that Nice Polite Edward was now being replaced with Irate Customer Edward. I was also slightly annoyed with myself for making him that way so quickly, even though I had done it on purpose. Regardless, he was being very intimidating at the moment.

His right hand came up suddenly, reaching into his pocket, and I completely panicked.

_He's got a gun! I pushed him too far and he's going to exact revenge!_

"Rosebud!" I yelled. "ROSEBUD!"

--

**The reviews are favorable so far, which tickles me greatly! Thanks for reading, and please keep on letting me know what you think. Chapter 3 will be up soon.  
**

**Thanks again to Cat for being a great beta!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

_His right hand came up suddenly, reaching into his pocket, and I panicked. _

_He's got a gun! I pushed him too far and he's going to exact revenge!_

"_Rosebud!" I yelled. "ROSEBUD!"_

Chapter 3

"What?"

He then pulled out...his wallet. My heart, that was just a second ago about to leap out of my chest and onto the counter between us, slowly started to resume a normal beat. I stared at his wallet and heaved a massive sigh of relief. When I finally glanced back up at Edward, I noticed he was looking at me very oddly. Okay, so maybe I had overreacted a tad.

"Nothing, it's nothing. I was just thinking about a flower order."

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"For Emmett, of course. An important flower order for Emmett to make."

He seemed to accept that, and offered me a slight smirk in return. _Good grief, that was a close one._

He pulled out one of his business cards from his wallet and laid it in front of me. I picked it up and read the first few words.

_**Edward Cullen, Attorney-at-Law**_

Ah, a lawyer. That helped to explain the steely gaze. Below his name and the name of his firm were three different phone numbers to reach him, via his cell, office, and fax machine. _Hmm, no home phone number listed._ _Wait, why would I even care about that?_

"So," I said, clearing my throat and hopefully without cracking my voice, "what can I do to fix this?"

"Credit my account for the old bouquet. Send a dozen to Rosanna and a dozen to Rosalie."

"Yellow roses again?"

"Yes."

"Thanking Rosalie for a remarkable evening?"

His jaw clenched slightly. _Wow, I really have a knack for getting it to do that._ "A remarkable _day_."

"Charge it to your account as usual?"

He nodded. I wrote everything down and smiled to myself for my keen business sense at the end there. I'd somehow managed to keep the customer satisfied; Alice would be so proud…._Oh shit, Alice!_

I picked up the phone.

"Alice! Are you there? Alice! It's okay, don't do anything!" I can't believe I had forgotten that she was on the line listening to everything, especially to a very alarmed me yelling out our code word.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at me once again. It was incredibly sexy, but I had no time to think thoughts like that when there could be sirens and cop cars pulling up at any second. I hung the phone back up.

"Um…." and just then we were interrupted by my best friend and her boyfriend busting through the front door. Alice was in front, with Jasper just a few steps behind her. Jasper looked in my direction to make sure I was safe while Alice's eyes darted back and forth between Edward and I.

"Bella, are you okay?" she said, looking cautiously at Edward as he turned around to face the two of them. "I haven't called the cops yet, but I can do that right now."

"No Alice, everything's alright. Mr. Cullen..."

"Jasper Whitlock? Holy shit! Is that you, man?"

Alice and I glanced back at Jasper, who looked confused for a second, and then

understanding seemed to suddenly hit him.

"Edward? Hell man, it's been years! What's going on?"

Jasper walked forward to shake Edward's hand, while Alice and I just looked at each other in disbelief.

"Hold it just a second here!" Alice said, putting her hands out in front of her as if to stop everything. "Jas, you know this guy?"

"Yeah, actually. We shared a dorm in college – I haven't seen him in years, though. Last I heard, you were practicing law down in San Francisco or somewhere?"

"I came back about six months ago, and I'm still a lawyer," Edward replied, his face friendly again.

"Wow, I had no idea you were back in town." Jasper shook his head at this new information, and smiled. "Anyway, Edward, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Alice."

"Err, hi there," Alice said, a bit warily.

"Hello," Edward beamed back at her.

He glanced my way, perhaps expecting me to be introduced to him as well. I thought about doing it myself for a couple of seconds when nobody else seemed to offer, but then Jasper had resumed talking again and he instead turned back at his old friend.

The two guys started to chat it up about old times presumably, and I motioned sharply with my head for Alice to come over to where I was.

"So you're really okay, Bella?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for the bit of panic back there. I tried to tell you everything was fine, but you were already on your way, I guess."

"God, I was so worried!"

"I know, Ali, and I do appreciate it. I'm relieved you turned up regardless, and also glad you didn't call the cops. Not sure how I would've explained that one." _Sorry officers. I kept poking and poking at this customer who was already pissed off before I started until he went completely ballistic and tried to attack me with...his business card. _Yeah, better that I didn't have to try.

"I would have called them if Jasper hadn't been with me, though I still would've come over here myself to defend you. Nobody messes with my Bella."

"Aww, now _I_ feel loved." _She really does care about me_, I reminded myself.

We hugged, and then Jasper remarked, "So Ed, did Bella get you sorted?"

Edward looked over at me. "Bella?"

_Yep, that would be me. _I gave a little wave in response, and he smiled.

"Yes, I think she has. There was a little mix up with a previous order I made, but I think it's taken care of now. I can only hope that Emmett gets it right this time."

Before I could react to this, Alice piped in, "Well, Bella can only take the orders and make the arrangements; Emmett has to make sure they get to the right place."

I felt all the blood drain from my face. Horrified, I looked over at him.

"Oh yes, of course. **Bella** is in charge of the orders." He glowered at me, but with a slight gleam of amusement in his eyes. I had been found out but he didn't seem to be too upset with me, thankfully.

"Anyway Bella, Jasper and I need to get going soon. Have you had dinner yet?"

"No, I'll probably just get a sandwich or something when I get home."

"So, you don't have any _plans_ to go out or anything?" _Hmm, what was she up to now?_

"No Alice, I don't."

"I haven't had dinner yet, either. Care to join me?"

_Holy shit, has Edward_ _Cullen just asked me out on a date?_ No, no, of course not. He just happened to be hungry at the same time I was and merely suggested that we combined our efforts to locate food, nothing more. That knowledge depressed me.

"Look, you don't have to..." I started to protest.

"Honestly, it'd be a pleasure. Besides, any friend of Jasper's can't be that bad."

Oh great. Now I was back to feeling like "Just Bella" again. I really didn't want a pity meal out of anyone, especially from this fox who seemed to make a habit out of wining, dining, and sending flowers to however many chickens he could get a hold of. Alice seemed to sense my hesitancy, and decided to speak up.

"Oh come on, Bella. You gotta eat, and I'll feel better about leaving you alone again tonight." She looked at me pleadingly. As much as I knew it wouldn't be the best idea, I had a hard time saying no to my best friend.

"Alright, fine. Let me get my things and close up. I'll meet you all out front."

Alice beamed again and gave me a one armed hug, then glided over to where Jasper was. I went to the back and checked that the door was locked, flicked off the lights, grabbed my things and headed out to the front, locking the front door for the second time tonight. I turned around and noticed Edward was outside by himself, standing by a lone silver car at the curb. I looked around for Alice and Jasper.

"They were going to be late for the film, so I told them to go on and I'd look after you," he replied, obviously getting what I was searching for.

"Look after me. Great." It was a condescending thing for him to say, but there was nothing in the way he said it that made me suspect he meant it to be rude. I grimaced anyway, and stood where I was.

"I don't see any other cars; do you park in the back?" He asked after scanning the parking lot with those amazing emerald eyes.

"No, I walk in. My vehicle isn't the most reliable lately, and it's not really that far."

"I see. Well then, your chariot awaits."

He bowed slightly and opened the passenger door for me. I got in and snapped the belt around me. He watched me, as though making sure I did just that. Once he was satisfied, he gave me a sexy crooked smile that made my heart flutter, and then closed the door.

_From irate customer to roving predator in the bat of an eye. _I knew that this wasn't a _date_ date, but I still had butterflies in my stomach at that moment. This was going to be some night.

* * *

**Wow, I'm glad to see that many of you have added me to your alerts and seem to like my little story! I'm having a good time with it, and that's made even better when I hear from you guys.**** Reviews are very inspirational to writing, too. That's all I'm sayin'.**

**Chapter 4 will be up soon.  
**

**Thanks again to Cat for having my back! ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

_He bowed slightly and opened the passenger door for me. I got in and snapped the belt around me. He watched me, as though making sure I did just that, gave me a sexy crooked smile that made my heart flutter, and then closed the door._

_From irate customer to roving predator in the bat of an eye. This was going to be some night._

Chapter 4

The next thing I knew, I was riding in a spotless silver luxury car next to an equally spotless perfect male specimen. This was definitely one of the last places I'd expected to be when I woke up this morning.

"So," I started, "this is where the magic happens."

He chuckled softly. "No, not really. Maybe where it starts, though."

"Ha!" I retorted. _Wow, was that the best I could come up with?_

"What? Don't you feel something?" He asked, locking onto my eyes. I felt my heart rate increase dramatically in response. _Oh, I felt something alright._

"I...uh..." Just then, my stomach growled. Rather loudly.

His eyes registered shock, and then he laughed. A nice loud laugh that filled the car; it was a lovely sound.

"Food first, magic later," he replied, still smiling at me. I smirked and looked back towards the road. He continued to watch me a little longer, and then returned to watching the road.

After a few minutes of driving, he pulled over to a meter on the street and parked.

"Does pizza sound okay?"

"Yes, sounds great."

I unhooked my seatbelt and he did the same. We opened our doors at the same time to get out, but he was over to mine in a flash to hold it and close it behind me again.

"It's just this way," he said as he gestured to the left.

We walked in the direction of a place with a sign that declared it "Luigi's," and he held the door open for me. Very good manners, that's for sure. He was a crafty one.

He walked right up to the hostess podium, which had a blonde girl about my age behind it. She was studying her nails, seemingly bored. Sensing we were there, she looked up.

"Welcome to Luigi's, how may...Edward, how divine to see you again!" _Divine?_ _Who the hell says that?_

"Hello, Lauren." He seemed friendly enough, but unimpressed. I wondered how he knew her name. And she his, for that matter.

"A booth for you? I get off in about a half hour, so I can join you when I'm done if you'd like."

Edward cleared his throat and I somehow took that as my cue to scurry up next to him.

_What an odd reaction_, I thought.

The hostess's eyes got big and she looked confused for a second. Or maybe this was her normal face, I couldn't be sure. I scanned her over quickly, much faster than she was taking the time to gauge my appearance. She had on too much makeup, and I didn't notice anything pinned to her top. _Hmm, she's not wearing a name badge. _It was probably best not to think about that too much more if I was going to enjoy my dinner.

"Actually, _we'll_ be needing a table for two, if that's okay."

"Sh...sure," she said, shooting daggers at me with her glare. "Right this way."

She grabbed two menus and silverware wrapped in napkins from under her podium and took off. I had to sprint a little to try to keep up with her in the dimly lit restaurant, and somehow managed to snag my shoe on some carpet that had wrinkled up. I started to fall forward and automatically closed my eyes tight and put up my hands to brace myself. The contact never came, though. I opened my eyes and then realized what kept my face from meeting the floor. Edward had caught me by the waist in his big, strong arms, just in time.

"Whoa there, Grace!" He chuckled.

_Argh, that does it_. I put my hands on his to try to unhook myself from his grasp, and spun around to make some smartass reply for the new nickname, but all of a sudden I was at a loss for words. His face was inches from my own, and his mouth was so close that I could feel his breath. I inhaled and caught the scent of mint and something else that made my mouth water. He smelled amazing. On impulse, my eyes went down to his lips, then back up to his eyes. There was something new in them looking back at me, and I could only guess that it was reflected in my own eyes just then.

"Hem hem."

We broke our staring match and looked in the direction of the sound. It was the hostess again...I think her name was Lauren?

"Your table?" She looked very impatient, and I was surprised she wasn't patting her foot.

I blushed furiously, muttered a "thanks" to Edward, and he let me out of his kung fu-like grip. My body heaved a little sigh at the loss. It really had been a long time since I'd felt a man's arms around me.

The blonde hussy dropped our silverware and menus, grumbled "enjoy", and strutted away back to her podium. I went to take the seat on my left, and Edward was there to hold the chair out for me.

"Thank you, again."

"Of course," he said. He took off his coat and smoothly hung it over the back of his chair before sitting down across from me. I marveled a bit at how well the shirt fit him, clung to his well toned arms. He had muscles, not like Emmett and not too big, either; just the right amount to suit me. I started to daydream about how the muscles in those arms would flex when he took that shirt off and how good his bare chest must look when I heard, "Earth to Bella." That quickly jolted me out of the imaginary striptease I had Edward doing in my head.

"Huh? I'm sorry, did you say something?"

He smirked at my flustered response, the cheeky bastard. "I asked if you wanted to get a large pizza to split or order something else from the menu."

"Pizza, oh yes. Pizza's good. Pizza sounds fine." I sounded like a blathering idiot.

"Shall I get a bottle of wine?"

"That'd be fine, too."

Embarrassed and slightly afraid to look directly at him after my fantasizing and verbal diarrhea that followed, I chose to look at my surroundings instead. It was a nice little restaurant, decorated with an obvious Italian theme, but I couldn't help but notice that some of the female waitresses were giving me the stink eye. _All this from just being seen next to Edward Cullen? _I looked over at him and he was reading over the wine menu, seemingly oblivious to all the commotion generated by his presence. I felt a little out of my element, but also a bit of pride at being the one on a date with him.

_Date, there's that damn word again. This is not a date, Bella._

Our waiter, Kyle, came soon after with some glasses of water and to take our order. He thankfully didn't seem to have any interest in Edward, so that was one employee that didn't seem to have a grudge against me already in this place. Edward ordered us a bottle of red wine and a pizza, and Kyle went to go place the order.

"So, Bella."

"So, Edward," I countered, sipping on my ice water.

"_You're_ the one that messed up my order, then?"

"Well I...you see...the thing is..."

He was smirking at me again. _I'm sputtering and he finds it amusing. Great._

He laughed that lovely laugh again. "Well, at least I know that Emmett is a real person, though I can hardly hold him responsible for the mix-up."

"You were so angry and mean looking; I didn't want you to yell at me. Well, more than you already were. All that talk about your distress, and that bulgy vein in your head thing you had going on."

"Did I frighten you?" he asked, his eyes serious for a second.

"A little," I admitted.

"I didn't mean to." He gave me a warm smile. "You did mess up, though. And it did cost me."

"Cost you? What exactly?"

"Time."

"Ah, the lawyer and his precious time."

"Yep," he said, much nicer than I'm sure he would have forty-five minutes ago.

"Are you going to bill me for this time we're spending together right now?" I asked teasingly.

"Nah, this is strictly pleasure."

_Didn't expect that response at all. _"Oh, really?" I said, my voice going a little higher. I _really_ hoped he didn't notice that.

"Well, I certainly hope so."

He looked into my eyes again, and I swear my knees went weak under the table. I was never so thankful to be sitting down. I was sure he was using those green eyes of his to put me under some sort of magic spell, but I was also starting to wonder if that would have been such a bad thing.

The pizza came out a few seconds later, and the spell was temporarily broken. I had nearly forgotten how starved I was until the delicious smell hit me. I grabbed a piece right away and blew on it before taking a bite. It was hot and slightly burned the roof of my mouth, but so tasty. I had to hurry and take a drink to cool down my mouth, and then took another bite.

"You don't believe in wasting any time, do you?" He was watching me with amusement.

"Nope!" I smiled, chewing away.

"Me neither," he said, smiling that crooked grin of his again, the one that made my heart overreact. I wondered if we were talking about the same thing as I took another bite of my pizza and tried unsuccessfully to calm my insides down.

* * *

We ate and talked about a little bit of everything. I found out that he was an only child who'd lost his birth parents at a young age, but had wonderful adoptive parents that he adored. I told him how I was also an only child, and about my dad, crazy mom, and stepdad. This led to a talk about where we grew up, then favorite films, movies, books, music and so on. He told me how he got his law degree here, went down to California to try to make a name for himself, but got sick of living down there. He had come back here about six months ago and was now living in a condo uptown. I told him that I shared a house with Alice, and that we rented it from a nice older man who had a bit of a crush on her.

"Jasper doesn't mind this?" he asked, amused by this tidbit.

"I don't think he knows, but he really has nothing to worry about. He's a sweet old guy, but Alice likes her men young, strapping and, you know, not on Medicare."

Edward laughed at that. "I guess Jasper does have that going for him, at least."

Before long, it felt like talking to an old friend, not someone that I thought was going to bite my head off earlier in the day. I told him a bad joke Emmett had told me the week before, and he laughed even though it was _really_ bad. I noticed that he would get this little twinkle in his eye when he laughed like that. I made a mental note to add that twinkle to the list of reasons why I needed to make him laugh as much as possible. I didn't know how much time I would get to spend with this gorgeous man, but I intended to maximize what little I probably had.

--

**Thanks so much for the sweet reviews you guys, they really do keep me going. :) Next chapter is done and beta-ed, so will be up very soon.  
**

**And, thanks of course to my great beta!**


	5. Chapter 5

_I noticed that he would get this little twinkle in his eye when he laughed...I mentally noted that twinkle was another thing to add to the list of reasons why I needed to make him laugh like that as much as possible. I didn't know how much time I would get to spend with this gorgeous man, but I intended to maximize what little I had._

Chapter 5

"So, how long have you owned the flower shop?" He asked, once we had polished off the pizza.

"Oh, I don't own it. Just work there, for about ten months now."

"Do you have some sort of flower arranging degree?" He asked, smiling.

"Ha ha. No, but I do have one in English."

"English, wow. So do you plan on doing something with it or just using that talent for writing gift card sentiments?"

_God, he's cocky._

"For your information, Mr. Know-It-All, I have been thinking lately about doing something with it. I just haven't decided exactly what yet."

"Well, do you want to teach? Or report? Write?"

"I'd like to write ideally, but I haven't written anything substantial in years."

"Why not?"

"Not inspired, I guess." That was honestly the truth, as annoying as it was. I just couldn't seem to get motivated at all.

"Need some...inspiration?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me and grinned.

_Augh, this guy is killing me._

"Maybe," I said, trying to be coy.

He smiled again, that sexy crooked smile I had grown very fond of in a very short period of time, and I had to try to focus once more. I decided to turn the conversation around to get the spotlight off of myself.

"I may just work in a flower shop and have a four year old degree that I've never used, but we can't all decide we want to be lawyers and be great at it and happy with that." I gestured at him with my hands.

"How do you know I'm a great lawyer? I might really stink at my job."

The idea of this man not excelling at everything he tried never once crossed my mind. "Do you?"

"Well no, I am a damn good lawyer," he said, smiling so big I got to see his teeth for the first time. They were very straight and white, but not blindingly so.

"If you do say so yourself?" I joked.

"I think I just did," he laughed. "I don't know that it necessarily makes me happy, but I am good at it."

"You're not happy, really? But you've got your well paying job, shiny Volvo, swanky condo..."

He rolled his eyes at this point. "Bella, it takes more than material things to make someone happy. To make _me_ happy."

I had to finish. "You've got all of that, and let's not forget all the women that you send flowers to... I would think that you'd be happy as a clam." It came out sounding a little harsher than I wanted, and I wasn't sure why the idea of him seeming to have everything all figured out bothered me. I frowned, and put my head down.

"Bella."

"Hmm," I muttered without lifting my head up.

"Bella, look at me. Please."

I raised my head, and was met with an intense gaze.

"The only woman I'm interested in right now is you."

I probably would have blushed for the hundredth time this evening, but I was completely taken off-guard by this statement. Sure, I knew it was the sort of thing he'd probably said a dozen times before to countless other females. Looking into his smoldering green eyes, though, I would have sworn that he had meant it only to me. He took my hand in his on the table and gently started to rub circles on the top with his thumb. I shivered slightly at his touch.

"Hey guys, here's the bill. Just pay whenever you're ready."

A slip of paper in a tray was dropped down right next to where our hands were. Edward jerked back in response, and I did the same. _Damn Kyle, way to ruin the moment._

I went to get my wallet out of my purse, but Edward already had his fancy platinum card out to pay. I opened my mouth to protest, but he wouldn't hear of it.

"No, let me get this. I'm sorry I frightened you earlier; it's the least I can do."

_Well, when he put it like that_.

I nodded and thanked him, and we chatted for a bit until Kyle came back with the receipt for Edward to sign.

"Thanks a lot, Mr. Cullen. You all come back and see us again soon."

"So, are you ready to go, Bella?"

I thought about it for a minute. My head was telling me that I was very ready to go home, to get away from this smooth playboy. My body was saying something else entirely. Rather than try to pick between the two of them, I just nodded.

We both got up to leave and he walked to my side, pressing his hand against my lower back. Butterflies filled my stomach at his touch. _My god, no man has ever had this effect on me. _A simple touch, a look, even just saying my name, and he had my heart jumping up into my throat. I guessed his magic was working after all, as I seemed to be completely under his spell.

He opened the door out of the restaurant, and again at the passenger side door of the car. As I was buckling up and waiting for him to get in, my mind was spinning a mile a minute. I really had no idea what to do next.

He finally got in and said, "It's still early, so how about you come see my 'swanky condo,' as you called it? I have some more wine there, too. I know you like red now."

I must have mulled it over a little too long, because then he said, "Or, I could just take you home if you want."

As good a time as I was having, and as much as my body was screaming at me to go with him, my head knew what I had to do. I knew deep down how this sort of guy worked. I had managed to keep my dignity until now, but to go back to his place, which I was positive was some luxurious condominium with wine and probably a black leather couch? I just couldn't take the chance. I nodded again, still unable to form words.

He sighed. "Okay. Where do you live?"

I told him the address, and we rode in silence. Not an uncomfortable one by any means, but silence nonetheless. He pulled into the empty driveway, turned the car off and said, "I'll walk you to your door."

I got out, and we walked together. We reached my front door, and I felt like I had to say something, anything, to make sure this evening hadn't all been a figment of my imagination. I unlocked the deadbolt with my key, and then turned around to look at him.

"Thank you for an interesting night. I had a good time."

"It was my pleasure," he said, seeming to genuinely mean it. "I enjoyed myself, too."

I smiled.

"You have my numbers, call me some time."

I nodded and looked down, sad that the night was coming to an end even though I knew it was probably for the best. I felt two of his fingers on my chin lifting my head up, and the next thing I knew, he was coming in for the kill.

_Dammit, I didn't see this coming at all!_ Before I could try to get away from what would almost certainly be the death of me, his lips were pressed against mine. I instantly forgot everything. The mix up at the store, the many women he had sent flowers to, and especially how I was too smart to fall prey to this roving wolf of a man. All of it was erased from my mind by one gentle kiss.

He slid one hand up behind my neck while kissing me, and I found myself doing the same to him. His hair was cropped short off of his neck, and incredibly soft. I ran my nails through the lower part of his hair, eliciting a soft moan from his lips. And then, all too soon, we broke apart. I dropped my hands regrettably to my side, and he slid the hand previously on my neck to my shoulder. The other still cupped my cheek.

He looked at me intently and said, "Sweet dreams, Bella."

I still couldn't speak, so I just nodded my head once. He turned and started to walk back to his car. My lips were still tingling from the contact with his. I put my fingers up to my lips and could feel the tingle transfer to them. "Wow," I said softly under my breath.

_Stop him! _Wait, my mind wasn't saying that. I think that it came from much lower….

"Edward, wait!" I cried out, a little more desperately than I had intended.

He spun around. "Yes, Bella?"

"Would you like to come in for some coffee or something?"

There was a pause. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, excitedly.

"Yes, that'd be great." He smiled brilliantly and walked back to me.

I turned the knob and let him walk in first, following close behind him. _I really must remember to thank Alice for spending the night at Jasper's tonight._

* * *

**I was going to hold off until tomorrow to post this, but I thought I'd go ahead and do it as a treat to those of you that were nice enough to review and message me. Thanks so much to you all, and I hope you like this chapter. Next chapter is going to get a bit more steamy. Or maybe a lot more. ;)**

**Thanks again to my great beta! **

**Reviews are excellent!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So here it is, the steam I promised. Hope it delivers for now, and let me know what you thought! **

* * *

"_Would you like to come in for some coffee or something?"_

_There was a pause. "Are you sure?"_

_I nodded, excitedly._

"_Yes, that'd be great." He smiled brilliantly and walked back to me._

_I turned the knob and let him walk in first, following close behind him. I really must remember to thank Alice for spending the night at Jasper's tonight._

Chapter 6

I closed and locked the front door and turned around to find him staring at me, expectantly. He took a step closer, and I decided to speak up.

"The, uh, kitchen is in here," I said, dodging him slightly and sneaking past.

_Breathe, Bella. _

I flipped on the light and started going through the cabinets.

"Right, coffee. It looks like we have Folgers and Seattle's Best. I don't really drink it much but Alice does. She never buys decaf, though. I have some tea if you would prefer..."

I cut myself off as he came up behind me and put an arm around my waist. The other hand brushed my hair back off of my left shoulder.

_No need to panic. Just keep breathing._

"Um, if you do want tea, I have a few different kinds..."

He brought his lips down to the newly exposed parts of my neck, dropping feather-light kisses. The sensation sent a tingling down to my toes.

"I...uh..." I was trying very hard to keep it together, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what I was talking about. Or even what my name was, for that matter.

"Yes, Bella?" He mumbled against my skin while continuing to place soft kisses. He was now down to my shoulder.

_Bella, that's it! I'm Bella, and he is...driving me crazy. _"Nevermind."

I turned around, lifted his face up, and crushed my lips to his. Once we were locked at the lips, I threw my arms over his shoulders. He leaned against me, pushing me further into the counter, as I tried to scramble my way up his body. He figured out what I was doing and grabbed me by the waist, placing me up on the counter for better access. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist, continuing to kiss him with everything I had. I ran my tongue slowly across his bottom lip. He gasped, then proceeded to attack the inside of my mouth. _If he's this good with his tongue, I can only imagine how good he is with other parts of his anatomy._

He moved his hands up from where they rested on my waist, slightly grazing the skin under my t-shirt. I quivered at his touch and felt him smile under my lips.

_Oh yeah? Two can play at that game, mister._

I moved my hands slowly down his chest, stopping at his waist. I lingered for a bit at his belt buckle, and rested my hands. I took a few seconds to mentally psych myself up for what I was about to do, and then started to untuck his shirt, slowly pulling it up. I managed to get it out without too much trouble, and I ran my fingertips across his naked waist. He shivered.

_YES! _I smirked at the understanding that I could affect him in the same way that he did me. He must have noticed because he growled in response, a terribly sexy noise. In turn, my hips got a mind of their own and thrust forward until we had maybe an inch of space between us. I could feel how much he wanted me and it only increased my desire to have him right now, if not sooner.

Both of us seemed to be lost in each other, frantically kissing and touching, and I realized that I'd have to breathe soon. We pulled away at the same time, out of breath and gasping. His heaving chest was turning me on even more. I looked up to see him trying to say something.

"Bella...you are unbelievably sexy."

I felt my face start to burn, and I looked down. He bent down slightly so that his eyes found mine. "You even blush sexy."

I gave a soft chuckle, and held my head up to look at him, slightly less embarrassed. He stepped back a few inches, but didn't drop his hands from my waist. His expression turned serious for a second.

"Look, if you want me to go, just say the word. I've had a great night tonight, but I don't expect anything more. It's entirely up to you and I'm fine with whatever you want."

"Edward."

"Yes, Bella?" He seemed almost nervous, and I found it adorable.

"Take me to my bedroom."

His eyes lit up, and that sexy smile returned. "As you wish."

I knew there was a very good possibility that I would end up hating myself in the morning, but right here, right now, my body was screaming out for his.

He picked me up and carried me to my bedroom after I pointed out which door it was, never letting go. We continued to kiss sweetly and more urgently. Once the door was opened and we were inside, Edward spun around with me still in his arms, and gently kicked it shut. The curtain on my window was open, and the only light in the room was from the streetlamp across the street from the house. He started to pace backwards towards my bed, and stopped when the back of his legs reached the mattress. He sat down, bringing me to a sitting position as well. I rearranged my legs on either side of him so that I was straddling his waist more comfortably. He moved his hands up my waist and under my shirt again, gently stroking my back. Deciding the shirt was definitely in the way, I hurriedly removed it. He initially looked surprised at my quick movements, but then the twinkle was back in his eyes again as he took me in. I was happy with the response, and decided to go ahead and remove my bra as well, but was stopped by his hands on mine.

"May I?"

"Sure," I blushed, but luckily he couldn't see that in the dark.

With one swift motion of his deft fingers, my clasp was free. He tenderly pushed the straps down off my shoulders and tossed the bra to the floor. He looked at me again, this time without anything covering my upper half, and then his eyes went up to mine. I recognized the twinkle again, but then saw something new in his gaze.

"Wow."

I smiled. Figuring it was only fair, I started to unbutton his shirt, slowly at first, but then a bit more frantic at the end, careful not to rip any buttons off. I had no idea how much it had cost him, but I'm sure it was probably at least a month's rent for me. Once all of the buttons were undone, I slid the shirt off. I ran my hands up his arms, over his broad shoulders, and back down his sculpted chest. I leaned back a little to take him in, and the blue light from the streetlamp cast a lovely glow on his bare chest.

"Wow," I repeated back at him, completely mesmerized by this perfect man in front of me.

He chuckled and leaned in to kiss me, and I was only too happy to oblige. I took full advantage and pressed my chest to his, reveling in the feel of his skin against mine. He broke our kiss and leaned down to trail kisses down my neck. He then reached up his hand to cup my left breast. I felt my nipples harden instantly, just from his close proximity. He lightly flicked my nipple with his thumb while massaging me with his fingers. My head instinctively flew back and a moan escaped my lips. My entire body was pulsing with a strange rhythm, and I felt the wetness already starting to pool between my thighs.

I couldn't stand it anymore and I arched my back, grinding myself into him. With a groan, Edward flipped me over on my back. He continued to lick and kiss down my neck, and then ran his tongue down to the valley between my breasts. I shuddered, and immediately the skin on my arms broke out in goosebumps.

"Are you cold?" He had noticed.

"N-no, I actually feel pretty hot right now."

"And then some," he said, before grabbing one of my nipples in his mouth. It was unexpected, and I cried out in ecstasy. He proceeded to lavish attention on one, then the other, licking and sucking until I thought I might implode.

"Edward, please..."

"What, Bella?" he said, in between kisses on my breasts. "What do you want?"

"I want you inside of me."

I couldn't believe that I blurted it out like that, but I didn't seem to have my filter on just then. I _needed_ him inside of me.

"All in good time, my dear."

My patience was beginning to wear extremely thin. I was sure_ he'd_ never gone two years without having sex, but I was beyond ready to go. I groaned in response.

He chuckled. "Bella, please just be a little patient. I promise to make it worth your while."

_Well, worth my while is good._ I tried to rub my thighs together to help alleviate some of the tension down there, but it didn't ease up much.

"Here, let me help with that." He moved his hand down to the button on my jeans, undid it and slid the zipper down. He started to kiss down my chest, and began pulling my jeans off. I noticed that my feet were bare and tried to remember where I had flung off my slip-ons, but then realized that I really didn't give a damn. He crawled down to the end of the bed to remove them completely, and gave me a kiss on each foot. He then took hold of my ankle and kissed it, then my leg, and then my inner thigh. I was really starting to squirm at this point, and he gently but firmly placed his hands on my legs to hold me in place. I latched onto the bedspread underneath me to keep my hands busy, but the pressure was agonizing. I could appreciate foreplay as much as the next woman, but now was really not the time. I had to have him right now.

"Edward, _please_. It's been so long." I was able to say, through labored breathing.

He looked up at me and my pleading eyes and seemed to be debating the issue internally. He then let go of my hands and leaned back a bit to stand up next to the bed. I took that as the OK for me to proceed, and leaned up to unbutton him and slide his pants down. He must have already removed his shoes at some point as well, because I met no resistance. He kicked out of his tailor made trousers and stood before me. I looked at his face, his amazing chest, and then my eyes came to rest down at the boxer briefs he was wearing. They were dark grey, matching his suit. A realization hit me, and I giggled.

"What?" He said, smiling at me.

"I just realized we're both in just our underwear."

He looked down at me and laughed.

"So we are. I guess we'll have to fix that," his voice went all seductive and serious again, and I immediately got a shiver up my spine.

"I guess so," I replied.

"You first," he said, as he bent down in front of me. He kissed both of my knees, and reached up with his nimble fingers to slide my panties down my legs, tossing them onto the floor. I hadn't been completely naked in front of a man in so long that I suddenly felt self conscious. I focused on his chest and tried to breathe, to calm myself. I leaned back further on the bed and looked at him. He stood back up and looked down at me, all of me, with a strange look in his eyes. It looked like reverence, and the awkwardness fell away, leaving me feeling very sexy instead.

"Your turn," I said, leaning up to do my part. With a delicate, swift movement, I freed his erection. I think I expected to be satisfied at the size and magnificence of him, and I was not disappointed. So much so that I was rendered speechless.

He noticed me staring at him. "Well?" he said, as though asking my opinion about a new recipe he was trying out or something. _Was he really questioning if I was pleased with the size of his dick?_

I looked up at him and smiled, forcing myself not to make a thumbs up gesture, applaud, or do something else equally corny. He chuckled, and leaned back down to kiss me.

"Do you have something? For protection?" I pulled away from him and asked before he could lean in further and I wouldn't be able to think about anything else. I was on birth control already to regulate my cycle, but that wasn't the only thing you had to worry about these days.

"Yes, just a second," he said, and startled to rifle through the pockets of his pants on the floor. He found his wallet, opened it and removed a shiny wrapper. He tore the package open with his teeth and removed it, then looked down at me.

"Would you like to do the honors?" he asked, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Uh, I honestly don't know that I remember how. You go ahead." That was mostly the truth, though I was still a little intimidated by the sizable penis in front of me.

He smirked and then slid it on while I watched. _Wow_. I backed up on the bed a little bit, slightly shocked at what stood before me.

"Bella, you okay?"

"Yeah, just...please...go slow. Okay?"

"Of course." He leaned down again to kiss me, and I put my hands on his shoulders to pull him back on top of me. We kissed for a bit more, and he put his head in the crook of my neck. He kissed me at the point where the neck meets the shoulder, and I trembled.

"I'll have to remember that spot." He said, kissing my neck and up to my ear.

"Mmhmm," was all I could get out.

"Are you ready for me, Bella?" His breath was hot against my neck and earlobe, and made me more willing for him than I already was. I reached down and wrapped my hand around him, guiding it to where I needed him most. He rubbed himself against my entrance, and I moaned and arched up into him. He slowly eased into me, and the sensation was astounding.

He started a slow rhythm and I kept the tempo, wrapping my arms around him and molding my body to his. The pace was measured and so very sensual, and I felt him with every nerve in my body. I could not believe how attuned my body was to his, and vice versa. We kissed slowly, and he reached his arms around my back, holding me closer as we made love. It may just have been sex to him, but he made it feel like love. He whispered my name once or twice in my ear, and my heart fluttered.

We continued to kiss and watch each other. His eyes looked down at me with such passion that I could not have looked away even if I wanted to. There seemed to be a lot going on in that look, but I noticed predominantly his concern for me; that he wanted to make sure I was enjoying this. I didn't remember ever having a man look at me like that before.

After several glorious minutes wrapped up in each other, I felt my climax coming on. My stomach tightened, along with my pelvic muscles. He felt it as well, and I could tell he was close. Slow and steady, I climbed my peak, my hands digging into his back to keep me anchored. It flooded over me, and I cried out in pleasure, shaking all over. He watched me, and soon after found his own release. He brought his head down to my neck and rested, both of us slightly winded.

After a couple of minutes of catching our breath, he rolled off of me and onto his back. He swiftly removed the condom and tossed it in the can by my bed, then turned on to his side. He put his hand on my waist and pulled me over on my right side to face him, running trails down my hip with his fingers. We stared into each other's eyes, neither of us saying a word. I heaved a happy sigh and he smiled, pulling me closer. I nuzzled my head into his chest and fell asleep peacefully with Edward's arms around me.


	7. Chapter 7

_We stared into each other's eyes, neither of us saying a word. I heaved a happy sigh and he smiled, pulling me closer. I nuzzled my head into his chest and fell asleep peacefully with Edward's arms around me. _

Chapter 7

The next morning, I woke up by myself. My sad eyes scanned the room for any sign of movement or trace of Edward, but the only clothes on the floor were mine. I got an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Before I could sulk too much, I heard a knock at my bedroom door. I rushed to pull the cover up over my still naked upper half.

_God, my sheets smell like him._

I composed myself as best I could and muttered, "Come in."

Alice pranced in, her usual cheerful self.

"Good morning, Sunshine!"

"Yeah, yeah." I really wasn't in the mood.

"Aw, it can't be that bad. It's Saturday after all, and you get to spend it all with your very bestest friend, me!"

This information perked me up a bit, and I remembered how much I had been missing her lately. "You're right, that is a very good thing."

"Sooo..." She dragged out the "O" a little too long. "What happened with you last night? I was a little unsure about leaving you alone with Edward, but Jasper vouched for him and I got pretty good vibes, so I figured you'd be okay. What'd you all get up to?"

"We went out to eat, as you so subtly arranged for us." She rolled her eyes. "We went to this restaurant, Luigi's, and had pizza."

"And?"

"And some wine."

"And?" She was obviously starting to get impatient, but I wasn't giving in that easily.

"It was red."

"And?"

"We had a nice old chat."

"Come on, Bella! AND?"

I immediately blushed and Alice's jaw dropped.

"Isabella Marie! Am I to infer that after pizza you all came back here for...dessert?"

I gave a weak nod.

She squealed, and ran over and jumped in the bed next to me. The force of her jump nearly made me drop the sheet, but luckily I didn't end up flashing my best friend.

"So? How was it?"

"Well," I tried to figure out how to put it into words. Nothing I could think of seemed to be able to do it justice. "It was...amazing, really. I don't think I can describe it accurately enough."

"Oh honey, I'm so happy for you."

"Yeah," I said. Then my unhappiness hit me again, and I looked down.

Alice noticed my shift in mood. "What's wrong?"

"The whole thing was a bad idea, Alice. I knew his reputation, and I never should have let it get that far. I debated all this in my head last night, but I just let my_...lower half_ get the better of me. I feel so stupid right now."

"Bella, you are **not** stupid. You let your emotions win out over your head for once in your life. As long as you were safe about it..." I nodded and she went on, "then what's so wrong with that?"

I heaved a sigh.

"What do you mean you knew his reputation?"

"He orders flowers a few times a month, all for different women. He was angry in the store because I had sent roses to the wrong Rose. The same Rose he had just come from being with, I suspect, and then I basically fell into his lap right after that."

"Roses to the wrong Rose? You're losing me."

"The point being, he's obviously some kind of ladies man. I didn't even get to give him my number, yet I have his. Isn't that how they work, letting the women come to them instead of vice versa?"

"You don't know that, Bella. The flowers could all be work-related, or going to members of his family or something."

"Always yellow roses and always thanking them for a remarkable evening?"

"Hm," she replied. "Jasper didn't say anything about him being such a manwhore, just that he was always trying to prove himself at his job and worked really hard. But he hasn't known him for a few years, either..." She trailed off and looked back at my pitiful state. She threw her arms around me in a hug, and I hugged her back, fighting off tears.

"Come on, I'll make some breakfast."

She got up and left me to pout some more in my room. I was mad at myself for letting my hormones get the better of me. I was mad because I knew I was smarter than that. And I was especially angry that I felt so empty this morning. I glanced around the room one more time. _Not even a note. Guess that settles that._

I finally crawled out of bed and hopped in the shower, effectively washing the last of Edward Cullen off of my skin. Ah well, it needed to be done. I let the water run down on me until it turned cold, and then turned the shower off. There was a knock at the front door while I was drying off. I knew Alice would get it, whoever it was, so I didn't rush to get ready.

Dressed and with my hair mostly towel dried, I stepped outside of my room into the kitchen. I did feel some better, at least. Alice was scrambling some eggs.

"Who was at the door?" I asked her.

"Delivery man with flowers. For you!" She pointed to our dining room with the hand that wasn't holding a spatula, and smiled at me. "Oh, and I nearly tripped over your shoes on my way to the kitchen this morning. I put them by the front door."

_Ah, I must've kicked them off in the hallway when Edward was carrying me to the bedroom. _I blushed, muttered "thanks," and walked quickly into the dining room, amazed to find a lovely purple orchid plant waiting for me. I smelled them, and they were heavenly. I ripped the little envelope with my name on it off of its stand and opened it.

_Bella,_

_Please forgive my sudden departure. I was called into work bright and early. _

_I would've liked nothing more than to stay where I was, but unfortunately I had to go._

_Thank you for an incomparable evening. Give me a call._

_Yours, Edward_

My stomach flipped a little, and I read it over again. And again. Then one more time just for good measure. I was really impressed to get an arrangement that wasn't roses, especially yellow ones. The card was actually a surprise as well, as it was much longer and more personal than any of the ones I had typed out for him in the past. Standing there with it in my hand, I knew I had to have had the goofiest grin on my face.

Alice's head poked around the corner from the kitchen. "Well?"

"I got flowers."

"I can see that, Bella. From who?"

"Edward," I said, looking up at her.

"Not yellow roses either, huh?"

"Nope, not yellow roses."

"Thanking you for a remarkable night?"

"An 'incomparable evening', actually."

"Well, that's definitely a start." She ducked her head back in the kitchen, while I continued to smile like an idiot.

Alice made a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, and we sat at our dining table to eat and talk. My new plant was pushed to the side of the table so that I could see her while we talked, but also still keep an eye on it. I couldn't help looking at it every so often and smiling, which I'm sure was getting on Alice's nerves.

"They really are pretty, Bella."

"I know! And the message on the card was great too, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it sure was."

"When do you think I should call him?"

"Oh, I don't know. Soon to thank him for the flowers at least, but if he's working today, you should maybe wait a while."

"Yeah, I'll call him this evening. You know, just to say thank you."

She smirked at me, then after a few seconds looked lost in thought.

"I can't even remember the last time I got flowers from Jasper," Alice said, scowling a little. "Did these come from Eternally Yours?"

I leaned over to check the little envelope, and they were sent from another florist across town. I wondered briefly if he employed several florists for his serial flower-sending. That thought made me a lot less bubbly.

"No, from In Bloom. And Jasper doesn't need to send you flowers; you have his love and devotion. All I've got are these orchids." It was true, and it sucked.

She shrugged, and we ate the rest of breakfast in silence.

I helped her wash up after, and we talked about our plans for the day. I told her about Emmett's special request, and we decided to go to Molly's tonight to see him and hang out. It had been a couple of weeks since we had been, just the two of us, so I really was looking forward to it. She wanted to go to the mall first, so I told her I would just need to get my shoes and jacket and then I headed to my room.

I didn't know how long we'd be out, as Alice could make shopping an all day chore. She really was in her element at the mall, and could spend hours there just browsing. I was more of a "get and go" kind of shopper, but I had learned to compromise over the years with her. I would only visit the fitting room once, and only with an amount of clothes I could physically carry. She never tried things on, and they always seemed to fit her perfectly. I was never so lucky, so I almost always insisted on trying it on before buying anything. My fitting room rule got her to be a lot more decisive, and got us out of stores in under an hour most of the time. Of course when it came to a mall full of stores, it could still be an all-day thing. I decided to buck up and go ahead and call Edward now, in case I didn't get a chance to later. I grabbed my cell phone, fished his business card out of my jeans pocket from the floor, and dialed his office line.

"Edward Cullen."

I was half surprised when he answered, though I figured his secretary probably had the weekend off. He must be there working at the office by himself. _God, I hope he's alone_.

"Edward, hi. I just thought I'd call and say thanks for the flowers. I sort of expected it, to be honest, but they're very nice."

"No problem," he said. I thought he sounded a little off, like that noncommittal voice people use when they're trying to figure out who they're talking to. Or maybe he was just really busy and I was being paranoid.

"I didn't mean to disturb you. I can let you go."

"I'm sorry, I'm just really swamped right now with this case I'm working on. Can I give you a call back later on or tomorrow?"

"Sure Edward, that'll be fine."

"Alright. Speak to you soon, Bella."

"Bye." _He did know who I was_! My inner cheerleader got so worked up about this that I completely forgot that he didn't have my phone number. _Shit!_

"Bella, get your ass in gear! I want to get there before all the good stuff is gone!" Alice yelled from the hallway.

I hurriedly grabbed my shoes, purse and jacket and booked it to the front door, making a mental note to call Edward later when I got the chance.

Eight grueling hours later, we finally made it back home. Alice had been in rare form, and we ended up hitting two malls instead of one. She was in search of a top for this skirt she bought recently, and our usual spots were coming up empty. We ended up driving some more after we left there and she located one in an outlet mall out of town. And then she had to accessorize it, buy shoes, and so on. I felt like I had just walked a marathon, and I had never been so happy to see our house before. After helping her lug in her purchases, and my two smaller bags, we both flopped down on the couch. It was around 6:30 p.m., and we decided to head out around 8:30 for Emmett's club.

"Why don't you go lay down for awhile, Bella, and I'll come wake you up in about an hour and we'll get ready?"

I mumbled, "Okay," and shuffled off to my bedroom. I fell down on my bed and was passed out in a matter of seconds.

**A/N: Tweaked this on 1/22/13.**

**I think some of you imagined that Bella would be waking up alone, but try not to go hating on Edward for that just yet - she's not, after all.**

**Next chapter is in beta, so should be out in the next couple of days hopefully. Thanks to Cat!**

**Thanks to you guys for reviewing. I love your theories and especially your feedback - it's a great motivator! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

_It was around 6:30 p.m., and we decided to head out around 8:30 for Emmett's club. _

"_Why don't you go lay down for awhile, Bella, and I'll come wake you up in about an hour and we'll get ready?"_

_I mumbled, "Okay," and shuffled off to my bedroom. I fell down on my bed and was passed out in a matter of seconds._

Chapter 8

Alice woke me up an hour later on the dot, and we started to get ready. She was off somewhere rifling through her own closet, and I was poking around in mine. I wanted to look nice, but not too appealing. Emmett had mentioned it being Ladies Night, and I was sure the letches would be out in full force. _No sense making myself more of a target_. I was still single by definition, but I wasn't looking to hook up with anyone in a bar. Since Alice was well off the market, I thought I'd go see what she had on to get an idea of how I should dress. I walked down the hall and poked my head in her doorway.

"Hey Ali, what are you wearing tonight?"

She came out of her walk-in closet with her arms full of clothes.

"Nothing's jumping out at me as being the right outfit. Maybe I should just wear that skirt and top I got today, what do you think?"

_Yeah, the outfit that had me walking all over the state to find it. _"Sure, it is fabulous," I said. There was a pause while I stood there watching and she threw the clothes in her arms down on her bed. "Any ideas on what I should wear tonight?" I felt like an 8 year old, but I was really coming up blank for some reason.

"That blouse you bought today is really nice. How about that and some nice jeans?"

"See, I knew you were my fashion adviser for a reason."

"You bet. You really should pay me more, though."

"HA!" I said, and started to walk down the hall. I quickly popped my head back in to her room and told her thanks, then went to get ready.

I got dressed, applied a little blush and eyeliner, curled my hair a little and then decided to just stick it up in a clip. I thought I looked pretty good, but I went out into the living room to wait for Alice's approval. She gave me a thumbs up, and we were out the door. We drove to Molly Malone's in Alice's car, as mine still needed looked at. We parked on the street nearby, locked the car and started to walk up to the front door. There was already a line of people out front getting their drivers licenses checked. Molly's was a full service restaurant during the day but after 8 p.m. on weekends, they didn't allow anybody in under 21. I always got carded anywhere that bothered to check for ID. Alice always did too, but she didn't seem to mind. It would probably be flattering in a few years, but for now it just served to bug me. Luckily, we knew the guy working the door, so I didn't have to fish my license out of my bag or wait in line.

"Hey Evan!" Alice said, bounding up to him.

"Bella! Alice! Gracing our establishment with your fine selves tonight?"

"You know it, big boy!" she said, slapping him playfully on one of his muscular arms. Even though she was taken and completely happy, Alice could still flirt with the best of them. Never in front of Jas of course, but she was quite handy for getting us free drinks whenever she decided to. I didn't quite have the social skills myself, but Alice just had an aura that people were drawn to.

"Ladies," Evan said, moving his large frame out of the doorway to let us in.

"Thanks," I said, smiling at him. He smiled back and then resumed his task of weeding out people that were underage.

The first thing we saw when entering Molly's was the sizable dance floor in the middle of the room. During the day when they served food, it would be covered with tables and chairs. They cleaned the floor off around 7:30 to get ready for the club crowd during the nights. There was a partition that surrounded the dance floor and was supposed to make for a frame around the floor and easy walking access to the back. The area between the walls and partition was full of people and tables as usual. The walls had mirrors and beer signs on them, and there were a couple of flat screen televisions hung up for sports games, all turned off. There were two staircases on either side of the building in the back to go up to the second floor, as well as one staircase and an elevator towards the front where we had come in. Above there was a balcony looking down on the dance floor from the second floor, just in front of the other main room. There was a smaller bar upstairs with more tables and a smaller stage that musicians would sometimes play at. The bar on the first floor was copious, covering most of the back wall. This was where we spotted Emmett.

He was assuming his scary pose, i.e. the one with his arms crossed in front of his huge bear chest while his eyes scanned the room looking for troublemakers. He hadn't seen us yet, as he still looked very fierce. Alice grabbed my hand and we made our way over to where he stood. Once he spotted us, he broke out in a big cheesy grin. It looked pretty comical with his limbs still crossed tightly, and I nearly laughed out loud, but he relaxed and motioned for us to come over.

"EMMETT!" Alice and I said in unison, taking turns giving him a hug.

"So glad you guys came! Alice, haven't seen you in ages. Does Jasper keep you chained up to a radiator in the basement or something?"

"Well, not the radiator, but the other night we did try..."

"**Alright**, let me just stop you right there!" I cut in, trying to erase the images that were fighting to sear themselves into my brain. Alice just shrugged.

Emmett laughed. "Anyway, how's it going?"

"Just peaches, baby!" Alice said, in her singsong voice.

"Glad to hear it," he replied, smiling, before he turned towards me. "Bells, miss me yesterday?"

"Well, of course I did. It's always dull as dishwater around the shop without you making an appearance, Emmett." I smiled to show him I meant it.

"Yeah, but after work certainly got more interesting, didn't it?" Alice said, elbowing me in the ribs.

My eyes got big, but Emmett's got bigger. "What's this? Bella, did you…" He was cut off and we were all distracted, thankfully, by a commotion across the room. It looked like a fight might have been breaking out, but I couldn't tell for sure. "Shit, I gotta go see what's going on. I'll find you all later, alright?"

"Sure, you go get in there and whoop some ass!" Alice said.

"And be careful," I added.

He smiled and took off in the direction of the fracas.

I rounded on Alice. "Woman, what the hell?! Where's your filter at tonight?"

She did her best to look innocent, but I knew better. "What? It's true, isn't it?"

"I suppose, but I don't want you telling everybody! It doesn't exactly present me in the best light, you know."

"Oh Bella, come on. This isn't everybody, these are your friends you're talking about here. We all know you're not some bed-hopping slut."

"Just the same, I'd rather you not make it common knowledge. Please?" I tried to do a pouty face for her, but it was nowhere near as good as the ones she used on me.

"Alright, fine. I could maybe leave out the part about the...dessert. But if anyone asks me directly, it's only fair that I confirm you were out on a date."

I let it drop, though I was sure I wouldn't hear the end of it. We ordered some drinks at the bar, and then started to make our way upstairs to find somewhere to sit. A couple of tipsy looking girls got up from a table near us, taking their drinks, so we rushed over to grab the spot. We sat down and started talking about the same old stuff we usually talked about when we got time alone together – our jobs, Jasper, entertainment news, sad people at the bar, and so on. I didn't want to bring up Edward or last night again because I didn't want to ruin the light mood, but I did eventually. Guess I couldn't help myself.

"So, I called Edward before we left earlier."

"Mmhm," Alice said, sipping on her cocktail.

"To thank him for the flowers, you know."

"Right. How'd it go?"

"Alright, I guess. It was pretty short because he was really busy at work."

She nodded, and looked at me as though waiting for me to continue.

"He said he'd call me later or tomorrow, but I didn't realize until after we hung up that I never got to give him my number. I guess I'll have to call him back some time."

We sat there quietly for awhile finishing our drinks. We decided to get our one good drink out of the way early, and then just have water the rest of the night. I didn't feel like having too much to drink because my stomach was already in knots, and Alice was driving. We finished our girly drinks, and then Alice grabbed hold of my arm. "Let's dance!"

I ran along behind her, as if I had any choice in the matter, and we walked down the stairs towards the dance floor. We danced through four or five songs, mostly with each other, occasionally sharing some space with a guy. There were occasionally a couple of guys that you could dance with and didn't take that as an invitation into your pants or to rub up against you. It wasn't bad, though I couldn't help wishing that I was there with Edward instead of whatever guy I was trying not to hurt while I danced with him.

_No no, I wouldn't ever want Edward to see me dance. Very bad seduction technique._

The song ended and I said thanks to the guy I was dancing with, and we went our separate ways. Alice had gotten further away from me, probably just as well for her own safety, and I saw her waving at me to come over to where she was. _I wonder what she's so eager about._ As I got closer to her, I saw the back of a male profile blocking part of my view.

"Hey, why all the waving?"

The guy turned around, and was smiling at me like the Cheshire Cat. I instantly got a bad feeling.

"Bella, this is Mike."

_Oh dear God no._

"Nice to meet you, Bella," he said, holding out his hand for me to shake.

I glared over at Alice and she just smiled at me. I reached out and shook his hand, "Hi Mike." His hand was clammy, and his grip was sort of limp.

"Mike's in insurance, and has his own boat!" Alice said, as though trying to sell me on him. He wasn't exactly ugly by any means; he had sun-bleached blonde spiky hair and small dimples in his cheeks that gave him a boyish charm. But I honestly wasn't interested, and I didn't know what Alice was up to. I decided that it wasn't this guy's fault, so I would play nice and then let loose my wrath later on my diminutive best friend.

"Oh, your own boat? Do you sail?" I asked, trying to appear somewhat social.

"It's not a sailboat, it's just a Ranger. A fishing boat."

"Oh."

We all stood there for a minute, in an uncomfortable silence. Alice broke it by saying, "Well, I'm going to go to the ladies. I'll catch up to you later, Bella!" I shot her a "don't you dare leave me here alone" look, but then she was gone.

He watched her go and then turned back to me. "By the way, my name's Mike Newton."

I nodded but was distracted trying to see where Alice had gone. "Bella Swan." I didn't mind telling him my last name because I wasn't in the phonebook anyway.

"B.S."

"What? It's not bullshit, that _is _my name," I replied, a little indignantly.

"What, no! I mean your initials, B.S."

"Oh." Wow, I'd never heard that before. This would probably have been funny if I wasn't standing here listening to it myself right now. "So, what is it you do again?" I said, trying to get things back on track.

"Oh, I'm in insurance!" His face perked up when he said the word, and I could tell he was in his element now. _Great_. "I deal in auto, home, life, basically any policy you can think of. It really is a very interesting field, why the risk assessment alone…"

He went on and on like that for a solid fifteen minutes, but by then I had had enough.

"Look Mike, I have to go to the ladies room. I'll see you later." I scurried off, trying to get through the crowd as fast as I could. I went into the bathroom and hid myself in a stall.

_My God, why me? Why are all the social rejects attracted to me?_ It seemed like any time I did get approached at a club it was by a guy who couldn't hold a real conversation at all or was just looking to get laid for the night. Or a mix of both, in some cases. This was exactly why I had been single for so long – I haven't had a real man pique my interest in years. Well, until Edward Cullen at least.

_Yeah well, that was a one time deal._

This realization made me sigh, heavily. Coupled with that and my icky feeling from being around that Mike guy for about fourteen minutes too long, I was ready to call it a night. I reached into my back pocket for my phone to check the time when I noticed I had a message.

_Odd, the only person who ever actually calls is here with me tonight._

I pressed playback and tried to listen, but it was just too damn loud to hear anything. I closed my phone and came back out to the bar, looking all over for Alice. I finally spotted her over at the main stage downstairs, chatting up Emmett. I fought my way over through the crowd and Emmett spotted me and waved first. My eyes were locked on Alice, though.

"Thanks SO much for leaving me cornered with that guy, dear friend."

"Oh Bella, surely he wasn't _that_ bad."

"Alice, he talked nonstop about insurance and then tried to sell me some. I also couldn't get a word in edgewise, and he smelled like soup!"

"Ooh, like chowder?" Emmett piped in.

"Tried to sell you insurance, seriously? Alright, I am sorry. I just thought you needed a little help to get back in the game."

"Was it chicken noodle?" Emmett said. I avoided looking at him.

"What game?" I asked her.

"The **love** game, Bella."

"How about tomato?"

Ignoring Emmett again, I laughed a little self-deprecating laugh. "Alice, I'm out. In fact, I've been on the bench so long, I don't even know how to play anymore."

Before Alice could retort, Emmett said, "It was alphabet, wasn't it?"

"Emmett, for Christ's sake...YES! That's exactly what it was, alphabet!" I said, glad to have finally solved the mystery.

"Haha! That must've been Mike then. In that case, I really feel for ya, Bells."

I gave Alice a knowing look, and she got the hint. "Alright Emmett, we are outta here," she said, and we both leaned it to give him a hug. I said goodnight, and Alice grabbed hold of my hand so we wouldn't get lost on our way to the front door. Mr. Alphabet Soup himself popped up at my side before I had any time to react.

"Hey Bella, there you are. I waited outside the bathroom for you, but then I realized that it was the men's room and..." He trailed off as his eyes looked down to my hand linked with Alice's.

"Bella, are you uh...le..leaving with..."

He seemed at a loss for words, and I nearly lost it when I realized why. Alice was quicker than me though, and leaned over to give me a quick peck on the cheek.

"Sorry! Looks like only one of us is getting lucky tonight, sport." She winked at him and pulled me away. I turned around to catch him standing, completely dumbstruck with his mouth open. Once we got outside, we both broke out into laughter.

"My God, Alice," I said, in between snorts, "that was beautiful."

"Hey, it was the least I could do. And like I've told you before, nobody messes with my Bella."

We walked to the car, still giggling.

"You guys were right, you know. I thought you were both exaggerating, but he really did smell like alphabet soup."

I lost it again, and then got into the passenger side. After things calmed down a little, I remembered to check my phone.

"Oh yeah, I have a message," I said, scooping my phone out again to replay it now that I could hear.

"**Hello Bella, it's Edward**."

_Good lord, that silky voice. How'd he get my number?_

"**I hope you don't mind my calling, but I got your number from Jasper."**

_Ah, that's how._

"**Anyway, I managed to make a lot of headway in the case I'm working on, so I won't be too busy tomorrow."**

_And you're telling me this why?_

"**If you're free, I was wondering if you'd like to come over to my place for dinner around 6. We could eat and watch a movie after or something."**

_Internal squee!_

"**I know you're out tonight with Jasper's girlfriend, but just call me some time tomorrow when you can and let me know. I truly hope you can make it, and I look forward to hearing from you. Bye."**

I slowly closed my phone and felt the biggest grin ever on my face. Alice looked over at me and also smiled.

"She's back in the game, folks!"

**A/N: Tweaked this a bit on 01/22/13.**

**I had a hard time describing the club/bar as I saw it, but I hope I did a halfway decent job helping you all to picture it. Thanks again to my great beta, Cat, who graciously takes time from her own story to look over mine for me. hug **

**Thanks so much for the reviews, keep 'em coming!**


	9. Chapter 9

"_**If you're free, I was wondering if you'd like to come over to my place for dinner. We could eat around 6 and watch a movie after or something."**_

_I slowly closed my phone and felt the biggest grin ever on my face. Alice looked over at me and also smiled._

"_She's back in the game, folks!"_

_--  
_

Chapter 9

That night, I couldn't stop thinking about Edward. When Alice and I returned home, she told me she was tired and we'd chat tomorrow. I knew she probably wanted to pick out my outfit for my dinner tomorrow night, and I frankly wasn't going to fight her on it. Although he seemed to like me just fine in jeans, flats and a t-shirt covered in potting soil, I really wanted to look great for our second date.

_Not a second date, Bella. Technically you have to have a first date before you can have a second. _Stupid logical brain.

I was mentally going over what I should wear, what he'd be wearing, what he'd make to eat, what his condo would look like, if he'd kiss me again and every other possible detail, so I simply could not sleep with my mind racing. I looked over at my bedside clock.

_1:33 a.m. Damn, I really need to get some rest._

I decided to put all thoughts out of my mind and just focus on one. I hadn't got to wash the sheets with all the rushing around during the day, and they still smelled like him. I pulled them up and conjured up an image of lying snuggled up next to Edward last night, the feel of his arms around me, and his breath lightly grazing my forehead. I happily fell asleep a minute later.

_--_

At 8 a.m., bright and early, Alice was waking me up by rubbing my arm. I couldn't complain much, as her method for rousing me in the past had been to jump on my bed and say my name over and over. She eventually realized that this did not a Happy Bella make, so now she's much more tactful. Definitely an improvement, if only I could have done something about the hours she picked on the weekends.

"Bella. Oh Bella..." Alice crooned softly.

"Mmm, I'm up," I said, sleepily.

"Come on, we have to figure out what you're going to wear."

"You mean for dinner tonight?" I lifted my head up and checked the clock on my bedside. "The one that's ten hours from now?" _Assuming it was still on, anyway. _I still needed to give him a call.

"Well, I have plans to meet Jasper this afternoon, and I want to spend some time with him before he goes away tomorrow, so please can we just get started?" She got especially whiny when it came to time with her guy, so I decided to cut her some slack.

"Make me some pancakes, and you've got a deal."

"Yay!" She hopped off my bed and out the door.

I groaned, still pretty tired but also looking forward to the day. I fell out of bed and went into my bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and wake up a little bit. My hair was sticking out everywhere like a haystack, so I ran a comb through it. Before long the aroma of pancakes entered my room, and I went out to the kitchen.

"Mmm, those smell delicious, Alice." I said, taking a big whiff.

"You know full well that breakfast is my thing; would you expect anything less?" She said, flipping them up and catching them back in the pan again.

"No, no I wouldn't. You _are_ pretty fucking awesome," I said, hugging her around the waist.

"Damn right," she said, hugging me back with one arm.

_--_

I scarfed down my pancakes; they were just so good. Alice knew how much I loved them, so she didn't speak until after my plate was clean.

"So Bella, what sort of look are we going for tonight?"

"Look?" I asked, finishing up my last bite.

"Yeah, like maybe a savvy business woman?"

"Alice, he already knows that I work in a flower shop. That's not a very corporate job."

"Okay then, how about sexy vixen? Or..."

"How about I'm 'Just Bella'?"

"Are you sure?" She asked, not meaning anything unkind by it.

"Worked well enough for me before, didn't it?"

She nodded. "This is true."

"I mean you saw me, I looked the same as I do every working day. I didn't even really think about it until the next day, that maybe I should have been more self-conscious about how I looked compared to him. I just enjoyed myself and didn't really think about it." It was true; I actually felt pretty comfortable around him after we had talked for awhile at that restaurant.

"That's all well and good sweetie, but now that you're in my hands, there's no way in hell I'm letting you go over there in jeans and a grotty t-shirt."

"No, I do want to look nice. Just, you know, still like me. I mean, it _is_ just dinner and a movie. A DVD movie, no less."

"Mmhmm, right," she said, smirking.

"What?" I questioned, wondering what was so amusing.

"Nothing, it's nothing. So let's go see what our options are."

"Wait, I should call him first. Make sure it's still on and all." _And get to listen to that sexy voice a little bit more._

"Alright, well hop to it. I'll just be rifling through your closet when you're done."

"Please...be gentle," I pleaded, knowing how she disapproved of at least a third of my wardrobe.

"I make no promises!" She trotted down the hall towards my bedroom.

I picked my cell phone up off of the dining table and called him back on the same number he had left me the message on. It rang three times and then he picked up.

"Hello?" He sounded incredibly sleepy. _Shit, I think I woke him up._

"Hi Edward, it's me."

"Oh, hi. How's it going?" he said, still sounding very drowsy. I heard rustling in the background.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you? Is this a bad time?" _Please be alone_, I thought for the second time in two days.

"No, no, that's okay. I just nodded off watching CNN. Some time late last night or early this morning."

"Oh. Did you not sleep well?"

"I'm a bit of an insomniac; I never really do sleep restfully. Well, except for two nights ago anyway."

"Oh yeah?" I said, feeling the blood start to tint my cheeks.

"Yeah. I had a beautiful woman in my arms. It was _very_ relaxing."

"Mmm," was all I could say.

"Wish I could see that sexy blush right now, too."

My mouth fell open. _How did he...?_ My face reddened to the point of feeling hot. I had no retort for that; he had got me.

He chuckled, but let it drop. "So yes, I was sleeping quite peacefully then. Until my phone woke me up, anyway."

"Well...duty calls, I suppose," I said lightheartedly, trying not to think about how I felt when I woke up yesterday morning.

"Yes, unfortunately, it often does." He sighed, and I waited. "But anyway, I hope you were calling to tell me that you're free tonight." His voice sounded much more untroubled with the change of subject.

"Actually no, I'm not." I decided to mess with him a little bit. I don't know what it was about him that made me feel the need to wind him up, but I did. Like I said, I couldn't help myself.

"Oh. Well...alright," he sounded really deflated, and I felt guilty. I chickened out and decided to let him off the hook.

"I was invited over to this lawyer's swanky condo tonight, you see."

"Oh yeah?" he said. I could almost hear the corners of his mouth rising and that sexy smile forming on his lips.

"Yeah, he's supposed to make me a swanky dinner, followed by a swanky film, or something." _God, where was my thesaurus when I needed it?_

"Well, that sounds very...swanky." He said it like a question, and then broke into laughter. My heart did a little backflip at the sound of it.

I laughed with him, relieved at the release of tension. "So we're still on?"

"Yes ma'am, definitely."

"Then I'm gonna need directions to your posh palace, so let me get something to write on."

"Oh, it's a 'posh palace' now, is it?"

"Yep." I fumbled around until I found a notepad and pencil. "Okay, shoot."

I took down the directions and we arranged for me to get there at 6, eight hours from now. I hung up and my mind was racing. _How in the hell am I going to occupy myself for eight hours? _I hoped Alice wouldn't mind loaning me her car, as I knew mine wouldn't be able to make the trip that far.

"Bella! Are you off the phone? Get in here!" Alice yelled from my room.

"Coming MOTHER," I said, walking slowly back.

_--_

Alice had taken the day off tomorrow so she could spend time with Jasper before he left and drop him off at the airport. I needed her car tonight, so I started to formulate a plan.

"Alice, can Jas by chance pick you up today?"

"Probably...why?"

"Well, I was hoping you wouldn't mind loaning me the car. I wouldn't ask only my truck is out of commission and I don't want to take away from your all's time together..."

She cut off my babbling. "Yes Bella, that should be fine, but why don't you just have him come get you here?"

"On a school night?" I said, referring to the nights before having to work the next day as we often did. "I don't want to put him out by having to drop me back off again late."

"You _could_ just spend the night over there."

I laughed. "Not gonna happen, m'dear." She gave me a knowing look and smirked. "And besides, I think he's actually cooking the meal himself – he'll be too busy."

"Any other excuses?" she said, still smirking at me.

"Umm, no. That's all I've got."

"Okay then. I'll call Jas in a few, but I'm sure it'll be okay."

I lunged at her and gave her a hug. "Thanks Ali, you're the best!"

She hugged me back and muttered, "Yeah, yeah."

We then got back to the task at hand – finding me something to wear that night. To speed up the process, Alice and I both handpicked various outfits and then I modeled them for her. Most of them were "No Ways," but we had a small pile of "Maybes." I dug around a bit more and found a dress, still in the bag with tags on it in the back top shelf of my closet. I pulled it down and lifted the garment out.

"Hey, I forgot about this."

"What is it?" Alice asked.

"It's a dress I bought for our graduation party."

"You mean the one you didn't go to because of that little prick?" Alice remembered all too well my break up with James. She was my rock for the four weeks after that I spent in mourning for our relationship. As soon as the fourth week passed, she got me up out of the bed I had stayed in most of that time and made me rejoin the human race again.

"_You've had four weeks, Bella, one week for every year you had together. What's done is done and you are not going to waste any more tears on that jerk from this day forward,"_ she had told me. I was very thankful that she didn't continue to let me wallow in self-pity like that, and gave me the extra kick I needed to get back to normal.

"Yes Alice, for _that_ party." I checked the size. "I think it should still fit."

"Well then try it on already!"

I pulled it completely out of the bag and removed the tags. _Too late to return it now anyway._ I got down to my skivvies and slipped the dress on over my head. I checked myself out in the mirror while Alice sat and flipped through a fashion magazine on my bed. The dress was really pretty, and I remember now why I had bought it. It was a pretty shade of royal blue and came down to just below my knees. It had short, puffy sleeves, and the neckline plunged ever so slightly. Overall, I thought I looked pretty good, but I had to get Alice's endorsement or it was going back into the bag.

I walked a few steps forward and said, "Well?"

She looked up at me and didn't say anything. This worried me a little, as her reactions to my outfits up until now were much more rapid-fire. "That bad?" I asked apprehensively, picking at the sides of the dress with nervous fingers.

"Oh Bella, it's fantastic! It's not too formal or too casual, and it looks amazing on you! I think the search is over!"

I clapped my hands together once, relieved at not having to play dress up anymore and that she liked the dress.

"I don't recognize it," she said to me while I changed back into my jeans and t-shirt.

"That's because you weren't with me when I bought it," I told her.

"Bella, you shopped behind my back? I feel so betrayed!" she said in mock horror, though I could also sense she meant it a little bit.

"You were out of town, dearest; I didn't have much of a choice," I said, trying to soften her up a bit. "But I did okay, didn't I?"

"You sure did, I'm so proud!" she beamed. "Now what shoes will you be wearing with it?"

_--_

Alice had called Jasper, and he came by to pick her up at 1. He was flying to Chicago the next evening, so Alice was just going to drive his car there to drop him off and then bring it back to park at our house until she picked him up again. He would be back on Friday or Saturday, depending on how things went with work. I secretly hoped it was Friday, as I knew she was going to be missing him like crazy.

She hugged me, offered a few words of encouragement for tonight, and then they left. I had another nearly six hours left to kill, so I went online and wrote a long overdue email to my mother. She lived in Florida with her new husband and they traveled a lot, so we mostly stayed in touch electronically. Phone calls were reserved only for really important stuff most of the time, and we were both fine with that arrangement.

I thought for a few minutes what to talk about in the email, and then settled for the same information I usually relayed. I told her that work was fine, Alice was doing well, the house hadn't fallen apart, and that I was okay. That was pretty much as exciting as it got for me, unfortunately. I made no mention of Edward because frankly there wasn't much to tell.

_Dear Mom, _

_Had mind-blowing sex with a guy I had just formally met a few hours before. _

_I think I saw God._

_How are things with you?_

_Love, Bella_

I chuckled, finished my _real _email, and hit send. I surfed the 'net a little bit, and then was soon bored again. I dug out the library book I was working on from my bag and laid down on my bed to read. I rolled over onto my stomach and shifted the sheets underneath me. I caught another hint of Edward's scent on them, and smiled.

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, I was being woken up by the house phone. I reached over to my bedside for the receiver.

"He-hello?"

"You nodded off, didn't you?" Alice knew me too well.

"Uh huh," I said, wiping my cheek. _Good lord, I was drooling in my sleep. _I hadn't felt that tired when I started reading, but something had definitely done me in. I wondered if Edward, or at least the scent of him, had the same relaxing effect on me that he said I had on him.

"Thought that might've happened. Well, you better get your butt in gear!"

I looked at the clock and it promptly jolted me awake. 5:15 p.m. "Oh shit, is that the time? I better get moving!"

Alice chuckled, "Is there an echo in here? Anyway, have fun tonight. Look gorgeous, be careful, and I want full details tomorrow night! Bye Bells!"

"You got it, Ali. Speak to you soon." I hung up and hopped out of bed, ran into the bathroom and hurried to have a quick shower to get ready for my date.

_--_

**A/N: Sorry for the small delay on this one. I've been dealing with a sinus infection, and my beta has been busy with her own stuff. I'm working on the next chapter now - the big date! That'll be up as soon as it's ready.  
**

**I hit 100 reviews sometime recently too, yay! Keep the love coming - I love hearing from you guys!**


	10. Chapter 10

_Alice chuckled, "Is there an echo in here? Anyway, have fun tonight. Look gorgeous, be careful, and I want full details tomorrow night! Bye Bells!"_

"_You got it, Ali. Speak to you soon." I hung up and hopped out of bed, ran into the bathroom and hurried to have a quick shower to get ready for my date. _

_--_

Chapter 10

I had thrown a white cardigan sweater over my shoulders before I left, as it had gotten chillier once dusk approached. I couldn't decide whether or not to button it at the time, and ended up just leaving it unbuttoned. I noticed it was about ten minutes to six, so I grabbed my purse and headed out the door.

Edward's condominium complex had underground parking, and he had given me the code to get in so I could park there. Some condos were allotted two parking spots, depending on their size, so I was the lucky recipient of the one next to his silver Volvo. I parked and walked over to the elevator, getting in and hitting the button for Edward's floor. I quickly checked over my appearance in the mirror at the back of the elevator, making sure no hairs were out of place, and giving my boobs a quick adjustment before the ding announced that I was now at the proper floor. I took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway.

I found Edward's door and steadied myself for a few seconds then knocked. I heard, "It's open," and turned the knob to let myself in. I stepped inside and right away noticed the lush carpet of the area I stepped into. I knew my shoes were probably clean, but I went ahead and took them off anyway and set them by the door, just in case. The carpet was incredibly soft under my bare feet, unlike the berber in my own house. I hung my purse on a coat rack just above where I set my shoes, and closed the door behind me. The aroma of something distinctly Italian hit me, and it smelled delicious.

"Edward?"

"In here, Bella," I heard from down the hall. I walked towards a well-lit room, which I discovered to be the kitchen, to find Edward placing a sizable dish into the oven. He closed the door and looked over at me, flashing that brilliant grin I was so fond of.

"Hi," he waved at me with his oven-mitt covered hand. The mitt was one of those designed to look like an animal, in this case it was a green frog.

"Hey Kermit," I said, smiling back at him. He looked confused for a minute, then looked at the mitt and chuckled. "Don't be embarrassed; I have one myself. I think it was a housewarming gift from my Dad, actually. Mine's a piggy."

"How fitting," he said, smirking.

_Hey!_ "And just what do you mean by that?" I said, walking a few feet closer to him, hands on my hips.

"Whoa, whoa, not like that!" He said, putting up his hands in mock surrender. "I just meant I've seen you eat, well pizza at least, and you wolfed it down. That's all I was saying."

I crossed my arms and tried my best to look annoyed and pitiful all at once. He took off the oven mitt and sat it on the counter, then walked forward and reached out for me. I was ecstatic to have his arms around me again, and it took everything I had to not wrap my arms around him as well. But I stood firm and kept my arms crossed as I was pressed into his chest.

"Bella, you know I think you're stunning, don't you? I'm very sorry if I implied otherwise." He rested his cheek on my forehead, and I felt my resolve waning. I sighed heavily and undid my arms, reaching them around his waist.

"Well alright, I suppose I accept your apology. For now." I smiled and looked up at him. He was flashing that lopsided grin at me, and I felt my knees do that buckly thing again.

"Good," he said, kissing my forehead. "Now let me get a proper look at you." He let go and stepped back a bit and started to look me over. I walked back a few feet and spun around for him, causing him to laugh quietly. After my pirouette, I took the opportunity to check him out as well, and was not disappointed at the sight before me. He had on a dark green t-shirt that was untucked, faded blue jeans, and was also barefoot as I currently was.

"My shoes are by the door, by the way. I didn't come over here barefoot or anything."

He nodded while his eyes continued to scan me from head to toe. "You look lovely in that dress, Bella. That color really suits you."

"Thank you. You look pretty good yourself." He was dashing in his suit before, but was equally as handsome in jeans and a tee. The main difference this time was that I could see his well-formed arms. I looked down the length of his chest and to his waist. I noticed he was wearing a different belt this time, with a bigger buckle. And then my eyes went further south....

_Oh sweet lord._

Edward's pants were significantly tighter, and the front of his shirt was doing nothing to hide that fact. I stared at that region a little longer than maybe I should've, and then pried my eyes away. I looked up at his face, and he looked as though he was trying to bore into my head with his eyes.

"Eh...Edward?" I managed to squeak out.

"Yes, Bella?" His voice took on a husky quality, and it was incredibly hot.

"I...uh...is that for me?" I said, pointing down towards the area I was just ogling moments before.

His brow wrinkled a little in confusion, and he looked down. He smiled and blushed slightly before looking back up at me. "Yes, I can safely say that it is."

I was slightly worked up before, but his blush and the gravely tone of his voice had me fighting hard to not jump him right there. I felt the familiar heat down between my thighs, and reflexively rubbed them together. He watched me with keen interest. We stood there motionless looking at each other for what felt like hours, but was probably more like ten seconds. He started to slowly step towards me. His eyes took on a greedy gleam, and I felt like he was hunting me or something. That served to turn me on even more, but I determinedly stayed put where I was.

"But, I didn't get _you_ anything," I laughed uncomfortably. _Yeah that was pretty lame, but all my blood is rushing to somewhere other than my brain right now._

He smiled this huge crocodile grin that fit quite well with his already predatory stance towards me, and I stepped backwards until I felt the kitchen wall behind me. I pressed up against it, with my hands to my sides. He got to me and leaned one hand against the wall beside my head. He waited a few seconds, as though to gauge my reaction, and then placed the other hand on the wall at the other side, effectively trapping me. He leaned in slightly, and I did the same and met him halfway until our lips met.

I tried to convey all the desire that I was feeling for him right at that second in that kiss, and he was definitely responding. He sucked lightly on my top lip, sending chills up my spine. I ran my tongue along his bottom lip, and he moaned softly. His lips moved to kiss my chin, and then slowly down my neck. I felt both of his hands on my waist, clutching at me gently but just enough so that I couldn't have got away.

_As if I would even want to._

"What about dinner?" I said, trying to form coherent thoughts as he kissed down my neck.

"Still has to bake for 45 minutes," he breathed into my neck. "Can you think of anything we could do in the meantime?"

I put my hands on his cheeks and lifted his face to mine, "Well...you could give me that present now."

He smirked at me. "As you wish."

He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist while my hands ran through his hair. He started to walk backwards and out the archway through which I had entered. He kissed me while simultaneously trying to see around me where he was going, and I attacked his neck with my tongue. He growled and I felt his chest shake beneath me.

"Make that noise again," I said softly, as we walked into what appeared to be the living room.

"You have to earn that noise if you want to hear it again," he said gruffly, crashing his lips into mine.

"Alright, release me."

He pulled away from me with a quizzical look on his face. "You want to stop?"

"No, but I can't wait for us to find our way to the bedroom. Now let me go." He made no move to drop me and his expression looked puzzled. "Just for a minute, Edward. It'll be worth it, promise."

He still looked confused, but did as I asked.

"Now go sit over there," I pointed in the direction of his leather, _I knew it_, couch.

He walked backwards to the couch, never taking his eyes off of me. Once he was seated, I walked over to him and laid my hands on his shoulders and sat in his lap, facing him. The skirt of my dress wasn't tight, and as I sat it flowed out around me, covering both of our laps. I initially leaned up a bit so that I wasn't actually sitting, but as his eyes got bigger I wriggled my hips until I was positioned directly over his hardness. I laid my forehead against his and pressed myself into him, and I heard that growl again. "Yes, that noise. Love that noise."

He chuckled softly and resumed lavishing kisses on my neck. I moaned softly. "Well, I love _that _noise. And I plan on having you make it another fifty times or so before the night is over."

"Fifty, huh? Really?"

"Is that a challenge?" He tried his best to look serious, but I still found it adorable.

"Let's see what you got," I said and leaned in to kiss him some more.

Without another word he turned and laid me down beneath him on the couch, still kissing me. I was helped out of my dress, and I reciprocated in liberating him from his clothes. He worked his magic, and I could confidently say that he rose to the challenge.

-------

A little while later, after we had got untangled from each other and dressed again, Edward offered me the grand tour of his condo. He took my hand and started to walk us down the hallway.

"You already know the kitchen, and the living room."

I blushed. "Yes, I surely do."

"Down here is the guest bathroom and my office on the left."

"What's in here?" I said, gesturing to a closed door on the right.

"It's just a guest bedroom. You can have a look if you like."

I turned the handle and was quite impressed. I would've thought surely it was his bedroom as well furnished as it was, but it looked too neat and tidy to be in everyday use. His condo was already fairly neat, but this room didn't look lived in at all. There was a lovely lightwood four-poster bed, with a matching dresser and armoire. There was a smaller half bath inside with a toilet, vanity and sink. "This is nice."

I walked out of the room and shut the door behind me, and looked in on his office. It was full of file cabinets and had a stack of paperwork on the desk, but was also nice and orderly.

"And my room is just back here."

I walked to the last room in the hall and poked my head in. The room practically screamed Edward, if I was completely honest. The bedroom furniture was made of dark oak wood. The bed was king-sized, though the room was ample enough to hold it with plenty of room to spare. The pillowcases and sheets were navy blue, and the bedspread was a warm beige. He had two large dressers and an entertainment chest at the end of the bed with a good-sized flatscreen television inside with a large stereo receiver on a shelf above it. His closet had two doors, and he also had a bathroom off of his room, though it was much larger than the one in the guest room. I stood looking at everything and let out a whistle.

"What?" He seemed a little uneasy.

"So THIS is the Lion's Den."

He smirked. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Oh come on, you know exactly what I mean. This is where you bring back all your prey after you've stalked and rendered them helpless."

He laughed enthusiastically. "Is that what you think you are? Prey?"

"That's right! I am but a defenseless little lamb."

"Hmm." He seemed to be thinking hard about what I had just said. "So then that would make me, if I remember this correctly, the lion?"

I nodded.

"Helpless lamb?" He pointed at me.

"Baaa," I bleated.

Then he did the most unexpected thing....

-------

**A/N: How are you all liking the date so far? Let me know!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This nice fluffy chapter is dedicated to Cat. :)**

* * *

"_Hmm." He seemed to be thinking hard about what I had just said. "So then that would make me, if I remember this correctly, the lion?"_

_I nodded._

"_Helpless lamb?" He pointed at me._

"_Baaa," I bleated._

_Then he did the most unexpected thing...._

Chapter 11

He leaned down slightly and bent his arms, flexing his fingers out in front of me. I was completely taken aback by this change in position and not sure what to do.

"Edward. What..."

He didn't respond, only began to slowly pace across the room towards me, hands out in front of him. His eyes narrowed and he looked intently at me.

"You...just...stay right there!" I started to walk backwards gradually, not taking my eyes off of him.

Then that creepy smile slowly spread across his face again, the one that made him look like a crocodile lying in wait. I was admittedly getting a little freaked out not knowing what he was going to do next.

"Edward, stop playing!" I frantically said, inching closer to the side of the bed. He didn't say a word, but merely continued to move closer and closer to where I was.

When he was about three feet away from me, he finally stopped. I heaved a sigh of relief that he appeared to be done with whatever game he was playing, but before I could finish it, he growled. It was similar to the growls I had heard him make before, only this one seemed to come from much deeper in his chest. I gasped in surprise, and he sprung at me.

"Aaahh!" I managed to squeal before we were both tossed back onto Edward's large bed. I felt his arms encircle and lock around me. He wasn't resting all of his weight on me somehow, but had me close enough that it was hard to breathe. At least I _think_ that's why I was having trouble.

I started to wiggle my arms to try to fight back, to no avail.

He chuckled softly. "It's no use, little lamb. I've trapped you."

I didn't reply, only tried pointlessly to get my arms free again. I could feel him continuing to chuckle, his body shaking slightly on mine. That didn't work, so I instinctively started squirming, trying to see if I could move my lower half since my upper half was obviously going nowhere. He had my legs firmly pinned down with the weight of his own, and I couldn't move them. I moved my hips, and brushed up against his pelvic area, and his movement and laughter immediately stopped. I looked up and noticed that he was suddenly wide-eyed.

He didn't say anything or loosen the hold on me, so I did it again more purposefully.

He groaned. "Bella...what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to use my...assets to free myself from your evil feline clutches, what does it look like I'm doing?" He didn't respond, so I startled wiggling again until I hit just the spot on his body I was aiming for.

"That, little lamb, is a surefire way to make sure that I never let you leave this room." His eyes were smoldering as he looked down on me, and I was completely turned on. "Ever. Again."

"Promise?" I said, trying my best to sound sultry.

He leaned down to my lips and I closed my eyes in expectation, when a buzzer sounded from down the hall. We were both startled and jumped, and he loosened his grip on me. I was the one to groan this time.

_Grr, stupid buzzer...right at the best part._

He sighed. "Looks like dinner's ready." He let me go and rose off of the bed, reaching out a hand to help me up. I nodded and we walked hand-in-hand back to the kitchen.

* * *

He pulled the dish out of the oven, and I saw and smelled that it was lasagna.

"Wow, did you make that from scratch?" I asked, impressed.

"Yep, it's one of my mother's favorite recipes. I know you like pizza, so I hoped you'd also like lasagna."

"I do, I do." I nodded.

He smiled and set the dish down to cool. "Hey, why'd you sound so surprised? Are you shocked that I actually know how to cook?"

"I don't know, a little bit I guess." I felt really weird just then even trying to make assumptions about him since I really didn't know all that much about him to begin with. "It sure smells good."

"Still has to cool for about five minutes or so. Do you mind making the salads?"

"No! Yes, I can totally do that." I blushed, embarrassed that I hadn't already offered to help with the food by now.

"I'd appreciate it. I was going to make them myself before the oven was done, but I was...distracted." He smiled at me, taking his oven mitt off again.

I blushed a little. "Well since that was probably my fault, I'm glad to help."

We took turns washing our hands in the kitchen sink and then he pulled out a cutting board, knife, and salad bowl for me to throw everything in. I took the vegetables out of the fridge and got to work. He got the plates and silverware and went out to set the table in his dining room. I loved to cook, and spent plenty of time chopping veggies and such in my own kitchen at home; I really found it comforting. I even found it comforting in Edward's kitchen, oddly enough. As I chopped up the tomatoes and cucumbers, I began humming a little tune without even thinking about it.

"Going okay?" The unexpected voice in my ear made me jump. I didn't realize that Edward came back in the kitchen and had walked right up behind me. I luckily managed to not hurt myself with the knife I was using.

"Yeah." I set the knife down and tossed some tomatoes into the bowl on top of the lettuce. He was still standing directly behind me, and I could feel his breath tickle my ear. I shivered a little, hoping he didn't notice.

"You seem tense tonight, Bella. What's got you so jumpy?"

I wanted to tell him exactly what had my body and emotions on edge, but it didn't seem like a good time, if ever. "Nothing, I'm alright. You just surprised me." I turned around and smiled, trying to reassure him. He placed two fingers under my chin and tilted my head up so I was looking him in the eyes, and I saw concern in them. "Really Edward, I'm fine."

He seemed to accept that and the worry faded from his eyes. He smiled again, brushing my lips gently with his own.

"What would you like to drink, Bella?"

"You mentioned having wine, that would be fine if you still do."

"Great, I'll go get it."

He turned and headed to another room, then reemerged with a new bottle of red.

_Surely he doesn't have his own wine cellar_.

I turned around and finished with the salad before putting the knife and cutting board into the sink and rinsing my hands off. I put the salad into smaller bowls and carried them out to the dining table, while he brought in the lasagna.

* * *

Dinner was amazing. I originally thought that he had bought the lasagna elsewhere and was just warming it up when I got there, but then decided that a man who was so good at seemingly everything definitely could and would have made our meal. I really only knew that he was a good lawyer by his own admission, and I knew that he was a brilliant lover, so why couldn't he also be a great cook?

"That really was excellent by the way," I said, as I helped bring the dirty dishes back into the kitchen after we had finished eating.

"Glad you enjoyed it."

"So uh, what do we do now?"

He looked over at me and raised an eyebrow. "Well I figured we could watch a movie. Unless you had something else in mind?"

I blushed slightly and his lips curved upwards. _Damn my pale skin!_

"A movie sounds nice."

"They're in the living room; lady's choice. You can go ahead and look if you want, I'll just finish up here."

I wiped my hands off on a nearby dishtowel and then went to pick out a movie. He had probably close to fifty dvds, all different genres. I settled on a simple comedy and put it in the player. I had to wait for Edward to turn everything on though, as he had about five remotes for the various electronics in the room and I had no idea what operated what.

He entered shortly after me and grabbed a seat on the couch, turning on the television.

"Find something you wanted to watch?"

"Yes, I did. I assume it'll be okay with you since you own it and all."

He chuckled and patted the couch next to where he sat. I nearly skipped over, and sat down next to him. He laid an arm around my shoulders, and I leaned my head on his shoulder.

_I could get used to this. _

I shuddered slightly at that errant thought, and Edward must have felt it.

"Are you cold? Do you want me to get a blanket?"

"Umm...yes, if you don't mind."

He hopped up and left the room only to return a few seconds later with a red fleece blanket. He spread it out and laid it across me, then sat back down and curled underneath it with me.

"Better?" He wrapped his arm back around me.

"Much, thank you." I smiled and resumed my previous position.

We watched the movie snuggled up together without talking, laughing at the funny parts when necessary, and just enjoying each other's company. Before long the credits were rolling upwards on the screen, and Edward had turned the television off.

As I laid there nestled next to him, I couldn't help but reflect on what an unexpected and amazing weekend it had been so far. I met this handsome man on Friday with a charming personality, he seemed to like me, and we had already hit the sheets twice now. Sleeping with someone I had known for so short a time was not something I normally would have done, but so many things about Edward were different, including how **I** was around him. I felt very comfortable with him, like I had known him longer than I had, and he made me feel attractive and wanted. I hadn't felt either in so long, and he gave me both.

_So what could be the harm in that? _

I made the decision there and then, and as soon as he turned his face towards mine to speak, I crushed my lips against his. I continued to kiss him with all the passion I could gather, in case this would be the last time I was able to do so. He responded back in kind, and I opened my mouth to allow his tongue to flit against my own. He moaned when I began to explore his mouth, and his hand reached up to rest behind my neck.

His mouth slowly moved from mine and started to nip gently at my neck. He made it over to the sensitive spot where my neck and shoulders joined, and lightly sucked and licked at it, driving me wild. One of his hands cupped a breast, as his thumb began to slowly torment my nipple. I ran my hands through his hair, over his shoulders and down his back, feeling the muscles stiffen and flex under my touch.

"God, Bella, what you do to me..." I heard him utter against my neck, sending a shudder through my body and already heightened senses.

"Edward...bed," I managed to articulate.

He reached both hands under my bottom and stood up, as I continued to nuzzle my nose into his neck, placing light kisses on any bit of skin that I could reach. We made it back to his room, "the Lion's Den" I had dubbed it, and he gently placed me on the bed. He began undressing while standing in front of me. He had taken off his shirt and removed his pants, and I watched him with hungry eyes. I lifted my arms and he removed my dress for the second time that evening, and then made quick work of my bra and panties. Once I was fully naked, he stood and studied my body. His gaze felt as though he was touching me, stroking my shoulders, breasts, stomach, and down between my legs. The intense scrutiny made my face grow hot, and I instinctively moved to cover up with my arms.

"Oh, don't," he said softly, grabbing hold of one my wrists. "You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, Bella, you're beautiful."

He brought my hand up to his mouth and laid a hot kiss against my palm. I felt the sensation all the way down to my toes. I moved my other arm to snake it around his neck, and brought him closer to me. I couldn't bring myself to respond to what he had said, the emotions that it stirred in me to hear it, but I hoped I could at least show him.

* * *

"I don't think I've thanked you face-to-face for the flowers. So thank you, again."

"You're very welcome. I was hoping you'd like it, even if it was expected." He smirked.

I chuckled softly, and then thought about it for a second. "Any reason why you picked an orchid plant instead of a bouquet?"

"You work around flowers, so I was sure you'd seen enough bouquets for the rest of your life. Plus I thought you might like a plant instead. It should last longer, right?"

"Yes, it should." I was touched that he thought of getting me something that wouldn't die in a couple of days, though I tried not to read too much into that.

We laid there for awhile longer, my head on his chest listening to his heart beating. I could hear that his breathing had slowed, and then realized that he'd fallen asleep. I lifted my head and checked the time on the clock beside his bed to see that it was nearing midnight, so I started to get up and creep out of bed. Edward woke up right then and eyed me trying to locate my underthings.

"Where are you going?"

I turned around to face him and said, "Home. I gotta work tomorrow, as do you."

He reached out a hand to grab hold of my arm and gently pulled me back to his side, kissing my neck. His other hand started to fondle my breasts, sending little tremors down my spine.

"Don't go, Bella," he breathed against my neck. "Stay the night, please."

_Do I need a second invitation?_

I raised my hips up and slipped back under the sheets, only to discover that he was already aroused again.

_His stamina is amazing, my god. _

He leant over to his bedside table drawer to get protection, and I closed my eyes and started to cuddle against him. In just a few seconds, he was doing enough cuddling for the both of us.

* * *

**So, how was it?**


	12. Chapter 12

_He leant over to his bedside table drawer to get protection, and I closed my eyes and started to cuddle against him. In just a few seconds, he was doing enough cuddling for the both of us._

**Chapter 12**

I was woken up around 6:15 in the morning by something nuzzling at my shoulder.

"Go away, Alice," I mumbled, lazily batting her away. I heard a soft chuckle and then felt a light kiss on said shoulder. Awareness of where I was last night came back to me, and I realized that this wasn't Alice at all.

"I _hope_ your roommate doesn't wake you up like this. Don't think Jasper would care for that."

I turned my head and smiled at him. I leaned in for a kiss before remembering I hadn't brushed yet, and quickly jerked back. He quirked an eyebrow, clearly puzzled as to why I pulled back.

"I haven't brushed," I said, putting my hand up to my mouth.

He was clearly undeterred, as he went in for the kill anyway.

After a pleasant thirty minutes or so, Edward went to hop in the shower. He asked me to join him, and as tempting an offer as it was, I didn't want to run the risk of making him late to work. I put on my dress yet again, cursing myself for not having the sense to bring something else to wear.

_Well, I didn't exactly plan on spending the night. Did I?_

If it happened again, I'd just have to be prepared next time. Big "if", of course.

After he had gone, I was left to my own devices in the sizable condo. The flower shop didn't open for a couple of hours yet, but I wasn't tired enough to try to sleep again. I took a seat on the leather couch and looked around, thinking about what I did know about Edward Cullen. As I watched him earlier this morning munching on a bagel across the table from me, I started to tally things up in my head. Edward was a good conversationalist and a good listener. He had a great sense of humor. He was a good cook. He was incredibly sexy, and very good in bed. I liked Edward quite a lot, and he seemed to like me as well. The many female recipients of flowers were still in the back of my mind, but I also couldn't help but feel in some small way that everything we were doing was something more than that. That it might have been a prelude to an actual relationship.

I drove home, got a shower and changed, then walked to work. I managed to open the shop just before 9 that morning, knowing that I had a lot of orders to fill. I grabbed the stack of invoices to take to the back prepping area where I actually made the arrangements when a slip of paper fell out. It was smaller than the other forms and seemed out of place in the pile, so I picked it up and glanced at it.

**_Rosalie Hale – remarkable day_**

**_Rosanna Hamilton – remarkable evening_**

**_Dozen y. roses each_**

**_Edward Cullen_**

My knees felt kind of rubbery, and I had to sit down. I had somehow let myself get swept up in this dream of a whimsical romantic weekend with this playboy, thinking that it would lead to something more, and forgot about everything else that my mind was telling me. _Like 'stay away' for example. _I did have a great time and some amazing sex, but that didn't change the fact that this could well have been a typical weekend for the man I shared it with. My stomach lurched.

_Sigh._

I made the arrangements of yellow roses and filled out both cards somehow without losing that morning's breakfast.

The day seemed to drag on and on once I finished all the arrangements, and I didn't have very many customers. I only saw Emmett briefly, and he was loading up orders while I was on the phone. He must have forgotten to hang around and ask me further details about what little Alice had spilled at the club the other night, or was just waiting to ask me later. I hoped it was the former.

I looked up at the clock and noted that it was nearly lunch time, just as the phone rang.

"Eternally Yours."

"Hey Bells, free to talk?" It was Alice.

"Sure, I'm not too busy right now. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much." She sighed, and I remembered what she'd done this morning.

"Jasper caught his flight okay?"

"Yes, left on time and everything."

"And how are you?"

"I'm just missing him, you know. Counting the days and trying to keep busy in the meantime."

Uh oh. The last time Jasper was away for more than two days, she redecorated the living room, lined all the kitchen shelves, cleaned the oven, and flipped both of our mattresses over. I honestly wasn't sure if there were any odd jobs around the house left for her to do.

"Anything I can do to help?" I offered.

"Well, you can give me permission to clean out, I mean _up_, your closet."

"Uh, I'd really rather you didn't." I saw the look in her eye the other night when we were looking for an outfit, and I was sure she'd toss half my wardrobe if she thought she could get away with it.

"Oh come on, Bella! Let me do this for you." I could just picture the puppy dog eyes over the phone.

"Well the fact of the matter is that I need my clothes, Alice. I really can't afford to go buy a whole new wardrobe after you throw everything out."

"I wouldn't throw _everything_ out."

"No, Ali, please."

"Look, at least let me organize it a little better for you? Pair up some outfit options and stuff?"

I thought about this for a few seconds. "You promise not to throw anything out?"

"Maybe just a couple of things that I've not seen you wear in a long time, or ever, okay? That's all, I promise."

"Well…"

"Please, Bella? PLEASE?"

Like I could say no to her. "All right, fine. Just a few things maybe, but nothing more!"

"Yay, thank you! That should kill at least a few hours until you get home."

I couldn't wait for this day to be over.

**Four years later, I'm finally trying to get back to this story. I know this was kind of a transition one with not a lot of action, but it's taking me some time to get back into the HLM,HLMN world. I also desperately need a beta to bounce ideas off of in addition to error-checking and just generally keeping me motivated to finish this. Anybody interested? **


	13. Chapter 13

_I couldn't wait for this day to be over._

Chapter 13

No phone call from Edward last night. I had only just seen him that morning prior, true, but I still hoped for something. Regardless, I woke up feeling better and glad to see the back of Monday. I showered, got dressed, had a quick Eggo waffle for breakfast, and grabbed a banana on the way out the door to work.

Once I arrived, I discovered there was actually plenty to keep me busy. Some orders had come in shortly after I opened for a funeral the next day, and I had several online orders to fill. We had a small website for the shop, but Donna, the owner, also had connected us to a nationwide flower site that sent orders for us to fill on occasion. Between them, I was occupied for the next couple of hours.

I stopped for lunch a little after 12 and went to the backroom to have a bag of chips, water and my banana from home. I left the open sign in place because I could still hear the bell over the door if someone entered. While I was munching and reading a book, Emmett came in the back door where the loading dock and parking area was located.

"Hey Bella," he said, taking the empty chair across from me.

"Hey." I slid a piece of paper in to mark my place and set my book down, smiling at him. "Having a good day?"

"Yeah, it's not bad." He stole some of my chips and shoveled them into his mouth. I gave him an incredulous look, which he ignored. "It was great to see you and Alice at Molly's this weekend. Not that I don't see _you_ all the time during the week, but, you know. It's nice to see you with your hair down once in awhile." He winked at me.

"I get what you're saying, and I did have a good time," I said, moving the chips bag out of his reach. "Well, aside from that Mike guy, anyway."

He laughed heartily at this. "Didn't make much of an impression on you, I guess?"

"Well, aside from the fact that I won't be eating alphabet soup any time soon, no."

We both laughed, and too soon it was time to get back to work. I talked to Emmett some more while he loaded the orders that were ready, told him I'd see him later and went out to the front counter.

The bell rang about an hour later and I looked up from my paperwork into the smiling face of Donna, the owner of Eternally Yours. Of course, this made her my boss.

"Hi, Donna," I said, taking a moment to take in her appearance. She was nearing 50, but didn't look a day over 40. She had brilliant auburn hair that was kept in shampoo commercial condition every single time I saw her, and flawless skin. Her clothes were always impeccable and very stylish. Despite this air she had of always seeming a little too together, she was a very sweet lady. I adored her.

"Bella, how is my favorite employee?" An ongoing joke, as I was her only employee besides herself.

"Good, thank you. Yourself?"

"Oh, can't complain! I was just out and about and wanted to stop by to see you." She came around the counter and placed her purse down on one of the prep tables behind me, then leaned it to give me a hug.

"Good day for running errands," I said, noting the uncommon occurrence of a sunny day outside.

"Yes, it is." She smiled, but then it fell and was replaced with a more serious face. "I spoke to Jessica over the weekend."

"Oh yes?" Donna's daughter Jessica was the same age as me and also had brown hair, but that was pretty much where the similarities ended. She moved to California once she graduated from high school and had lived there for the past several years. She was a reasonably talented actress in her school productions and thought that would automatically transfer over to Hollywood. I think she'd gotten a handful of commercials and bit parts in the six years she had lived in Los Angeles, definitely nothing of note. "How is she doing? Landing any good roles?"

"She said she had a break in her schedule and wants to come visit for a week or so." This usually meant that Jessica was feeling dejected and needed her mother to give her a morale boost. Or she was low on funds. Probably both, now that I thought of it.

"That's nice. When will she be here?" I hoped that I would have some time to prepare myself.

"I'm picking her up at the airport this evening."

_Well, shit._

Jessica was not a bad person by any means, she was just horribly shallow, entitled, and really annoying. Because her mother owned the florist and was, therefore, the Queen Bee, Jessica fancied herself the Princess Bee. I had no idea if such a thing even existed, but you get the idea.

She stayed at home whenever she came back to visit, at her Mother's sizable house. Probably in her old bedroom, unless she had turned it into a shrine for when she became a famous movie star. Her old friends from around here didn't ever want to see her when she came back, "they're just jealous" she had told me when I asked, so she hung out around the house. Then before long, like clockwork, she would get bored with that and end up here at the shop. One of the things that I particularly liked about my job was the autonomy. Donna was a wonderful boss who knew I could do my job efficiently, so she did not hover and left me to my own devices. Jessica thought that the five or so days she put in _a year_ made her an expert somehow, and she was always there to offer her "expertise". She liked to critique my arranging skills, move displays around to what she thought was a more desirable location, and just generally make my work day hell. This would last until she either went back to L.A. or found something or someone else to occupy her time.

Smiling as best I could, I said, "Oh, well that's…great!"

Donna studied my reaction, fake grin and all, and smirked a little. She knew how crazy Jessica made me, even though I had never said a word on the matter. She _had_ raised the woman, so I was sure she knew all about it. Donna is nothing if not gracious, though, and she changed the topic shortly after to our online orders.

I decided to call and check in with my Dad that evening. Charlie lived in a smaller town about an hour and a half away from me, and we talked on the phone pretty regularly.

"Hey Bells." Caller ID, gotta love it.

"Hi Dad. How are you feeling?" When we talked last week, he had some kind of stomach bug that was going around. He's not the type to complain about an illness or feeling bad, like most men, so I wouldn't even have known anything was wrong if he hadn't excused himself twice while we were talking, presumably to run to the bathroom.

"Oh, I'm feeling better. Sue brought me some soup for lunch today, and I managed to keep it down." He and my Mom had divorced years ago, but he'd only started dating about a year ago. He had been seeing this nice woman named Sue for the last five months or so. "Crackers and ginger ale were getting old. I'll probably go back to work tomorrow."

I had no idea he wasn't going in to work, so it must have been worse than he let on. "Well, I'm glad you're on the mend," I said, feeling a little guilty. "How is Sue doing?"

"Kids are driving her crazy, but she's good, she's good." Sue had two kids, a boy and a girl, both a little younger than me. "Seth 'borrowed' her car on Saturday night and hit a deer on his way home. He's fine, of course, but the car is not. She's been using mine to get to work while it's being repaired."

"Yikes."

"I know, that kid gets away with murder." I could just picture him shaking his head in dismay. "But I think it'll be fixed in a day or two. Is your truck running okay?" I hadn't mentioned it the last time we talked, but I knew he would ask eventually. I told him about my issues with it lately, mostly a lot of engine noise and sometimes trouble starting. "When was the last time you changed the oil? Try doing a filter and oil change first and see if that makes any difference."

My Dad had taught me how to change a flat tire and the oil and oil filter when I got my first vehicle, and it was information that had served me well over the years. What can I say, I've only ever owned used cars. "I guess it probably is close to being due anyway. Tell you what, I'll do that this week and let you know if it helped."

"All right, Bells. Well, game's coming on in a little bit, so I'm going to go watch. Take care and don't forget to lock your doors." He had been saying the last bit to me ever since I moved out of his house.

"Of course, Dad. Love you."

"You too. Bye, Bella."

I hung up just as Alice yelled, "Hey Bella, you never wear these purple corduroy pants anymore, do you?" Sighing, I walked back to my room to see what destruction awaited in my closet.

**I know, there's definitely a lack of a certain green-eyed fellow this chapter. He will be back in the next one, but I just had been holding on to this one for so long and wanted to get it published. Now seriously, please show some love and motivate me to get the next one out much sooner. (And a beta would still be nice, if anyone is interested!)**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The next day was another busy one at the shop. I had several deliveries going to the same location for a funeral, so that made Emmett's job a little bit easier. He came in around 11:30 to pick up the first orders I had ready. I was up to my elbows in potting soil when he walked up and leaned on the counter beside where I was working.

"Hey, can I get a favor?"

"Probably," I said, looking over at him. "What's up?"

"Can you put something together for me? Nothing big or fancy or anything, just, like, a nice bouquet?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure I can, but it wouldn't be ready until after 3 at least. Would that be okay?"

"Sure, that'd be fine."

"Did you have anything in particular in mind, flower-wise? Style? Message?"

He mulled this over for a little bit. "No roses or anything too over the top. Just something pretty." He paused and his cheeks flushed a little. I'd never seen Emmett blush before, and it was kind of adorable. "Pretty and classy, but also simple. Think you can you do that?"

"I'll see what I can do." I was very curious about whom this bouquet was for, especially since he was being unusually secretive, but I didn't want to pry.

"Thanks, Bella. Well, I'll see you later." He pushed off of the counter, gave my shoulder a little squeeze, and we both got back to work.

I didn't see Emmett again until around 4:30, and his bouquet had been ready for a little while. I'd finished my other orders a couple of hours prior, and I actually had some nice pieces left over. I managed to put together a nice arrangement of pink gerbera daisies, pink carnations and a couple of white Peruvian lilies. He seemed pretty happy with the end result.

"That looks really great, Bella." He looked it over thoroughly. "What do the daisies mean?"

"Well, daisies in general can mean cheerfulness, innocence, friendship."

He frowned a little as though he didn't like that answer so well. "Hmm, I'm not sure if..."

"_But_," I said, interrupting him to further explain, "pink daisies tend to signify classic beauty."

The frown disappeared and he beamed. "Yeah. That's...that's perfect. So, what do I owe you?"

"Nothing." He looked like he was going to protest, but I cut him off. "I just made it with what I had left over anyway, Emmett. Everything's already been paid for, and it's nice to see them not go to waste." He just smiled at me, showing off his dimples. "I hope she likes it," I said, amused to see him so giddy.

After sweeping, cleaning the counters and putting fresh flowers in the display case, I locked up and headed home. I heard Alice's voice as soon as I got in the house and found her in the living room on the phone, presumably talking to her sweetie given how bouncy she was. We waved at each other, and I went back to the bathroom to wash off some of the grubbiness of work and freshen up a bit. I washed my hands, arms and face, put on a clean shirt and some sweats, and then came back out to the kitchen to see what we had for dinner. Looking through our fridge's contents, I noticed we had ingredients for tacos. I leaned around the corner to where Alice was and cleared my throat to get her attention.

"Tacos for dinner?"

She nodded and gave me a thumbs up.

"Hi Jasper!" I said, raising my voice.

She giggled. "He says Hi, Bella."

I went back to the kitchen and dug out a skillet, starting to break up the hamburger meat to cook. I also got out some vegetables to clean and a block of cheese to grate. Alice came into the kitchen a short while later, beaming. She had that look on her face fairly often since meeting Jasper.

"Anything I can do to help?'

"Sure, do you mind washing the lettuce and tomatoes? They're in a colander in the sink." She went to the hall bathroom to quickly wash her hands and came back and started cleaning the veggies. "How's Jasper? His work going all right?"

"Mmhmm, it's going well. He should be home by the weekend."

That would explain the source of that big grin. She hadn't quite started moping around the house yet, but this was likely because my 'wardrobe renovation' and her own job were keeping her busy and distracted. There had been other times when he had been away for more than a few days, and my best friend just wasn't her usual cheerful self when that happened. "It's great that you get to talk on the phone so often while he's out of town."

"Yep. He calls me every day while he's gone. Says he can't sleep well unless he hears my voice," she said, going all moony on me.

"Aww," I said, smiling at her. If it had been anyone else saying this to me, I probably would have laughed. Or gagged. But this was Alice and Jasper, and I knew it was entirely sincere. Their relationship really seemed to be one of those once in a lifetime loves you always read about but rarely, if ever, get a chance to experience for yourself. Although I was elated that my best friend had someone so special in her life, it was also a stark reminder that I had nothing close to that myself.

Alice had most likely seen these pitiful thoughts flash across my face, because she then asked, "How is Edward?"

"He's fine, I suppose. I haven't spoken to him in a couple of days, actually." I tried to infuse as much nonchalance into the statement as I could.

"Really?" She looked slightly baffled. "Not since Monday?"

"Not a peep," I said, stabbing the meat in the skillet with the tip of my wooden spoon.

"Have you called _him_?"

I shook my head, both to tell her no and to attempt to clear my thoughts some.

She turned off the faucet and dried her hands, then came and stood beside me. "Bella," she said softly, her tone suddenly serious. "I know you've been hurt. Really, I do. But, sweetie, not all guys are like James."

I closed my eyes for a minute to try to block out the bad memories from my last serious relationship. Well, it had been serious for my part, anyway. I unfortunately found out too late that it wasn't on his. Once I opened them again, I realized I had no reply to that. She reached over to my free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I forced myself to look at her and gave what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Well, anyway, you have his number. Just please don't forget that it works both ways."

"Maybe I will call him," I finally said, but I don't think I convinced either of us.

* * *

I woke up on Thursday morning after a fitful night's sleep to my alarm buzzing away. There was an outfit hanging from my closet door with a note stuck to it. I turned off my alarm, rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and stumbled over to read it.

_Bella,_

_You should wear this today. I have a good feeling it will bring you luck!_

_xo,_

_Alice_

My roommate was quite nimble on her feet and had obviously sneaked into my room this morning to leave this for me. Never one to doubt Alice's hunches, and frankly needing all the luck I could get, I picked up the hanger and brought it with me into the bathroom.

When I got to work that morning, the lights were already on and the door unlocked. I knew this could either be Donna's doing, which would be a good thing, or Jessica's, which would be...the opposite of that. Holding my breath, I opened the door and walked in. Donna was at the counter going through paperwork, and I let out a small sigh of relief.

"Good morning, Donna."

"Good morning, Bella," she said, smiling at me. "You look very nice today. I don't often see you in a skirt."

"Thanks. It just seemed like a good day to wear one." I had no idea if that was true, but Alice certainly seemed to think so.

"I'm meeting with one of our distributors for a late breakfast this morning and needed to get some paperwork before heading that way," she said, before I could wonder why she was here so early.

"Ah, okay. Did you find what you needed or can I help you look?" I walked over and stood across from her.

"No, no, I have it right here," she said, waving some papers at me. "You organize so well, and it was exactly where it was supposed to be."

I smiled, accepting her praise. I may not have been the neatest or most organized when it came to my personal space, but my work space was a different story. I liked to have everything in its proper place. Donna knew this habit kept me, and the store, running efficiently, and she never messed with or questioned my system.

I heard footsteps behind me. "I started some coffee, Mom, but I don't know _why_ you haven't bought an espresso machine for here yet."

_Uh oh._

I tried to keep my smile plastered on as I slowly turned around and faced the source of that grating voice. "Morning, Jessica."

"I mean, come on. I'm sure she drinks espresso, too, don't you, Bella?" she said, completely bypassing any sort of greeting.

"Well, not really, no."

Her eyes narrowed, she made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a 'hmph', and turned and walked back to the kitchen. Donna looked contrite and shrugged her shoulders.

"She insisted on coming in with me to help out," she said just above a whisper. "I wondered if she might not already have something planned with her friends for today, but she insisted that family came first."

I had to bite my lip so I didn't laugh out loud. This was clearly also news to Donna, and I saw the corners of her mouth twitch like she was fighting back a grin. I had no idea why Jessica was trying to pretend that she wasn't completely self-absorbed, but it wasn't fooling anybody. She just wasn't that good of an actress.

"That makes sense," I whispered back, trying my best to be affable. "I mean, all this will be hers someday, right?"

Donna's face was unreadable, but she said, "Yes, that's right." She cleared her throat and that seemed to be the cue for us to return to speaking in a normal tone of voice. "I'll be meeting Mr. Miller in about," she paused to check her sparkly Rolex, "twenty minutes, so I should get going."

"Will Jessica be going with you?" I asked, expectantly.

"Actually, it will just be me this time. I hope you don't mind having an extra pair of hands around the shop today?"

An extra pair of hands would normally be quite helpful at work. The extra mouth, however, I could have done without. Before I could respond, Jessica came back to where we were.

"We'll be fine, Mom. Now get going." She made the shooing gesture with her finely manicured hands.

Donna looked at me for confirmation. I nodded and smiled, hoping to project confidence that I didn't really feel.

"Well, alright then. Have a good morning, ladies, and I'll be back soon."

I watched Donna go, and started to walk to the back to hang up my coat and purse.

Jessica spoke up just before I got out of her sight. "Hey Bella, how long ago did you put those tuberoses in the display case?"

I turned around slowly. "Yesterday, just before closing. Why?"

"Oh. Well, I thought they were older, so I threw them out."

I just stared at her, dumbfounded. How she could toss out a perfectly fine flower arrangement without bothering to ask or even realizing that they were fresh, I had no idea.

"They just looked a bit wilted is all. I'll make a nice daffodil arrangement or something to replace them."

"Fine," I managed to say behind gritted teeth.

At 9:30, I was transferring some potting supplies from the back to the prep area. While my arms were full of heavy sacks of soil, the store phone rang. I continued slowly walking to my destination when it rang a second time. I glanced over and saw Jessica on her cellphone. It rang a third time, and she persisted to act like she hadn't heard it.

"Ah, Jessica, could you get that?"

She gave me a look like I had asked her to sprout wings and fly. She pointed at her own phone like that was explanation enough, and then continued to ignore me and the ringing phone. Sighing, I tried to shuffle faster so I could place down the soil. Eventually able to drop it, I ran over to answer the call, staring daggers at the back of Jessica's head.

At 10, I needed to use the computer to check for online orders as I did around this time every day. Jessica was playing around on it, using it to check all of her social network pages. I hated to have to ask permission to use _my _work computer, but I did anyway. "You'll just have to wait, I'm doing something really important." I eyed her skeptically. "For work," she added.

I walked over and glanced at the page she had open over her shoulder. "How is Twitter related to your work exactly?"

"I retweeted something this up and coming director posted, and now he's following me. We've tweeted back and forth a little, and I have a very strong feeling that he's about to ask me to be in his new movie." She flipped her hair very dramatically, as though this director could see her primping through the monitor. "_So_, I obviously have to make sure I reply promptly when he does, so he doesn't think I'm not interested and give the part to someone else."

I wanted to roll my eyes in the worst way, but reminded myself that this was my boss's daughter. Instead I said, "Can't you do the same thing on your phone?"

"I could," she said, scrunching up her nose, "but my cosmetologist told me I needed to not squint so much because it could cause crow's feet, and my phone screen is so tiny. Can't you just check the website with _your_ phone?"

She undoubtedly thought it wouldn't matter if _I_ got wrinkles in the corners beside my eyes. "I don't have internet access on my phone."

She looked incredulous. "Surely you can't be serious."

"I am serious. And don't call me – anyway, no. I really don't." I hadn't upgraded my phone in several years, mostly because mine still worked fine and I couldn't justify the cost.

"No games or taking photos or anything? Then what the heck do you use it for?"

"Uh, as a phone. Making and receiving calls, that sort of thing."

She shook her head in a pitying manner and heaved a big put-upon sigh. "Just give me two minutes, Bella."

"Fine." What was keeping Donna?

By 10:40, I had a small pile of invoices to be filed. To my surprise, Jessica offered to do it for me. Given how she had been zero help thus far, and figuring there was no way she could possibly screw up something so simple, I let her. She was still standing at the filing cabinet a few minutes later, the pile I had given her not much shorter than when she had started. I started to get a little concerned.

"Doing okay with that, Jessica?"

"Actually, no. My mother goes on and on about how organized you supposedly are, but your filing system is really confusing. I don't know how you could possibly find anything in this...mess."

_One, two, three…_

"What don't you understand about it?" I tried to keep my tone as neutral as possible.

"Well, for starters, why do you even have so much paperwork anyway? Isn't everything computerized?"

"They are all in the system, yes, but I also keep paper copies of all invoices for 45 days. That's how _your mother_ wants things done."

Knowing she couldn't debate that point with me once I brought up Donna's name, she moved on to her next complaint. "Why do you have everything filed in some secret way that only you can figure out?"

"They're in alphabetical order by customer name, Jessica. I didn't realize the alphabet was such an enigmatical way to sort something."

She threw up her hands and huffed. "I just think there's a much easier way to file this stuff."

_Four, five, six…_

"What would you suggest instead?" I said, waiting to be enlightened.

"Well –" Her solution was that I use some of those accordion style folders for the paperwork instead of specifically labeled folders in a filing cabinet, with no discernible method of how they were organized. My mind boggled.

"Okay. How exactly would you go about filing new orders?"

"Just stick 'em in the front of the folder," she said, with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Counting to ten just wasn't cutting it. I forced myself to turn around and walk away before I gave in to the urge to stick my fist in front of her face.

My boss finally returned to the store shortly after 11, which was just enough time for me to hang on to my last piece of sanity. I was very happy to see her, both because of her comforting presence and also because I really needed the buffer.

Jessica looked up from her phone and smiled that cheesy grin I'd seen in a commercial or two. I almost cringed. "Hello, Mother. How'd it go?"

Donna looked over my way first, tilting her head slightly as if she was reading something. "Great. It was very productive. Have you all been busy here?"

I was going to answer, but Jessica seemed to assume this question was directed at her. "Oh, we've had all kinds of orders to fill, and I had to rearrange all of the displays. It really is _so_ much work to run things here. I think Bella has difficulty doing it all on her own, so it's a really good thing I was here to pitch in and shoulder the responsibility."

My mouth opened, but no sound would come out. Donna said, "You always were very generous, dear, but I think Bella does an excellent job." Jessica looked like she was going to reply, but Donna continued, "Bella, could you come to the back with me, please? I just want to show you some of the paperwork and new account details from my meeting."

Jessica shrugged and went back to tapping buttons on her phone. Donna and I were both nearly to the back when the bell over the entrance rang. I stopped to go back but she put her hand on my shoulder and gently guided me forward, instructing her daughter instead to assist the customer.

When we got to the back, I let out a breath that I'd probably been holding since she first left the store this morning. I looked at Donna and she seemed both apologetic and concerned. "I hope that you still want to work for me after today?" she said, partly joking.

"Of course I do! It's just been a..._trying_ day so far. It happens sometimes." _Usually about twice a year, by my count._

"Yes, I'm sure it has been." She looked like she wanted to give me a hug, but on second thought just put her arms at her side and smiled. I smiled back at her, thankful for the thought if not the gesture itself. We talked about how the meeting went and the new contract details. She explained that there were just a few changes to be made and she would put the updates into the system later today.

"It all sounds pretty painless," I said. "I'm glad the meeting went well, and especially that Mr. Miller is giving us an even better discount this year."

"He's a good man, and he knows we are loyal customers. It's beneficial to everybody."

I nodded. We seemed to be done discussing the matter, so I said, "Well –" and started to walk back to the storefront.

"Bella, why don't you go ahead and go to lunch?" Donna said, stopping me just as I caught a glimpse of Jessica and a customer. I turned back to face her. "In fact, I want you to take a long one today."

"Donna, it's fine. I don't really need to," I protested.

"No, I insist you do. Jessica and I can handle things while you're gone."

"Well, if you're really sure." The idea of getting out of there for a little while, and away from Jessica, was most appealing. "Maybe I will." I thought I might call Alice at work and see if she'd want to pick me up and go some place to eat. I turned and walked back towards the counter and noticed that Jessica was talking intently to someone. She was blocking my view of them, but I could tell that it was a male. This would explain why she seemed so immersed in the conversation, though I could really only hear her doing the talking.

_Maybe Alice would want to try that new bistro that opened by her office? Is the weather even good enough to sit outside? _I looked at the window to check, and then back towards Jessica and the unknown male customer. She moved a little to the right so she was no longer blocking my line of sight, and I realized that this was no unknown male at all. He looked up at me and our eyes met.

_Whoa._

All thoughts of weather and food flew from my mind. Strangely enough, however, Edward looked very hungry. I felt a chill run down my spine.

After a very startled moment, I collected my bearings and somehow got my legs to work again. He watched me closely and smiled. "Hello, Bella. I was hoping you were free so I could take you to lunch?"

I couldn't seem to find my voice, so I just nodded and went to get my coat and purse. Donna was watching from the doorway, a knowing smile on her lips. "Have fun, Bella. And be back around 1:30?" I nodded and smiled back. She gave me two hours free, that wonderful woman. The possibilities made my head swim.

I slid on my coat, lifting my hair out of the collar to let it hang down my back, and then grabbed my purse. I was acutely aware of him watching my every move, but decided to peek just to make doubly sure. His eyes had never left me, and he was currently taking in my choice of clothing. I stole a glance over at Jessica, and she looked like she had sucked on a lemon. My inner cheerleader did a little dance.

I walked past her and the counter, careful to keep my distance from Edward. I didn't know what would happen if he were to touch me right then, so it seemed the safest option for everyone involved. He went to open the door for me to pass through, and I did so as quickly as I could. He also opened the door of his car for me, so I was already feeling quite pampered.

We drove for a bit, seeming to have no real destination in mind. Edward's eyes focused on the road, his hands tense on the steering wheel. I adjusted my legs, crossing one behind the other, and he watched with keen interest. The air in the small space of the car was fairly crackling with tension.

He turned to look at me. I felt the need to say something, so I blurted "How have you been?" just as he said "You look nice." Embarrassed that we both talked at the same time, we gave each other nervous smiles.

"Do you have anywhere in mind that you'd like to eat?" he asked, eyes back on the road.

"Whatever you think is fine. I'm pretty flexible."

Realizing what I had just said, my cheeks flushed. I knew he hadn't missed my choice of words, and I looked over, expecting him to smirk at my now red face. It seemed to have an entirely different effect on him; he looked at me intensely with those dark green eyes. It gave me a strange feeling in my chest.

He hesitantly brought his gaze back to the road. "Ah – Bella …"

"Mmhmm?"

"I don't want you to think that I don't want to take you out to lunch. I don't want you to think that I came to see you with only one thing on my mind. But right now…"

"My house," I blurted out.

"What?"

"Alice is at work right now. My house is closer."

He caught on right away and we drove on in silence, the air in the car now thick with something else – anticipation.

**I know he showed up late in the game, but I had some other stuff to get out of the way before they met up again. And BOY, what a reunion they are due. **

**This was the longest chapter yet, I think. It takes me a little longer to get things where I'm happy to post them since I don't have a beta. I do lots and lots of edits and rewrites, things that didn't happen when I had a fresh set of eyes to look over my writing. Anyway, please let me know what you thought. I've already started working on the next one, and the ending of this one should give you some idea of where it's going. Show some love and it'll help me get it out sooner! **


	15. Chapter 15

_He hesitantly brought his gaze back to the road. "Ah – Bella …"_

_"Mmhmm?"_

_"I don't want you to think that I don't want to take you out to lunch. I don't want you to think that I came to see you with only one thing on my mind. But right now…"_

_"My house," I blurted out._

_"What?"_

_"Alice is at work right now. My house is closer."_

_He caught on right away and we drove on in silence, the air in the car now thick with something else – anticipation._

Chapter 15

I fumbled with my keys at the front door, having a hard time keeping my trembling fingers still. My skin felt electrified, charged by Edward's close proximity and the expectation of what was to come. I think he sensed my difficulty because he was mindful to keep his distance while I struggled with the simple act of turning a key in a lock.

Finally managing to get the door open, I dropped my purse and shrugged out of my coat in the entranceway. He closed the door behind us, and then one arm was at my waist, whirling me around. He pressed me against the wall, his left hand cushioning my head.

His mouth crushed mine as his right hand roamed free over my body. We were frenzied, our tongues locked in a pulsating battle. It felt like he wanted to devour me, and I was welcoming it with open arms. Coming up for air, he proceeded to nip and lick along my jaw line, down to my neck. His mouth found that favorite spot of mine and lightly sucked. I moaned and felt my knees weaken over the ecstasy. He anticipated this and took both of my hands and looped them behind his neck.

"Hang on to me."

I gratefully did while he resumed kissing me thoroughly, his hand returning to pillow my head against the wall. His other hand reached down to my knee, gently lifting it up to settle on his waist. His palm slid down my hip and then back up again, inching my skirt up with it. He reached back to my behind and gently squeezed. That simple touch shot my temperature up to boiling point, and I wiggled against him. He groaned and buried his face in my neck.

"Bella," he murmured his voice low. "If you keep rubbing against me like that, I won't last long enough to get my pants off." His breath was heavy against the sensitive skin of my neck.

_I did this to him._ The thought just served to turn me on even more, and I reached for his zipper. "Then let's fix that."

He chuckled softly and captured both of my hands, gently pinning them over my head. He looked straight into my eyes, his own now so dark they were nearly black. "What am I going to do with you, little lamb?"

"I can think of so many things," I said cheekily, licking my bottom lip. "But everything coming to mind right now involves the removal of these pants." I was never usually this brazen, but something about Edward brought out the beast in me. _The wild, sex-crazed beast._ I leaned forward to lick his earlobe and lightly bit it.

He hissed and then said almost to himself, "Jesus, Bella." I smiled, wondering if I wasn't about to be the only beast in the room at that moment.

He pulled back a little, not retreating very far, and reached for his back pocket. He pulled out his wallet while I continued to burrow myself into his neck.

"Fuck," he grumbled, and not in a sexy way.

I straightened to look up at his face, noticing the crease in his brow. "What's wrong?"

"I'm out. We used all of them the other day and then I meant to pick up some more but I've barely been out of the office all week and, just…_fuck_."

In my lust-filled haze, I had a hard time figuring out what the hell he was going on about. Then realization set in.

"I'm on the pill!" I blurted.

The corners of his mouth twitched at my outburst.

"Are – uh, are you…" I hadn't had to ask this in a long time.

"As a whistle," he said, smiling. "I just had a physical a couple of weeks ago."

_Huzzah! _"Oh. Well…good."

His gaze turned predatory again, and I shivered. "So, we're okay to keep going?" He kept his distance, waiting for my permission.

In response, I pulled him in for a heated kiss. He grabbed hold of my leg again, hitching my knee up onto his hip. I wrapped myself tightly around him, pressing our lower halves as close together as I could. He was kissing along my neck, which was very distracting, but I was determined to get what I wanted.

"Edward."

Seeming to read my mind if not the inflection in my voice, he stepped back and started undoing his belt and unzipping his pants. I dropped to my knees, helping pull them down, and lightly kissed him on the sensitive spot just below his bellybutton. I heard his sharp intake of breath.

"There's no time for that right now, Bella," he growled at me.

I was hauled back up to my feet and pinned against the wall. He lifted my skirt with one hand, the other trying to reach my panties. I wiggled and shimmied until they were down, kicking them off. The last obstacle out of the way, I instinctively wrapped both legs around his waist.

"Now, Edward."

In one swift movement, he sank all the way inside me. The feeling of fullness - of completion - nearly took my breath away.

He didn't move again right away, so I figured he might have been letting me adjust to him. After a little more time passed with no movement, I softly said his name.

"I'm okay. Just – need a minute." His voice was tense and restrained, as though he was fighting to keep it under control. Knowing that I had given him that reaction made my head float. I experimentally moved my hips so that I slid back and forth a few inches, issuing a silent challenge. I was rewarded with his groan. "God, you're _so_ ready."

"I think I've been ready since the first time I met you."

He chuckled. "Is that so?" It seemed my challenge had been accepted, as he pulled out and slammed back into me, my back straight against the wall.

"Yes!" I answered, nearly squealing.

"All I have to do is think of you for longer than five seconds, and I'm hard."

_Damn, that was hot._

"And I thought about you _so _much these last few days." He continued driving into me, that delicious friction I had missed so much. "Your taste." He licked my neck. "Your skin." He kissed me. "Your smell." He nuzzled into me.

A soft giggle escaped me. "Hey, are you saying that I smell?" I said, aiming for playfulness.

"Yes, you do. Delicious." His mouth was up by my ear, his breath hot. "I could eat you."

Much more of this verbal foreplay and I was going to explode. He pulled down my blouse and bra, exposing me, while his head came down to lick, nibble and tease. I lifted my hand from his neck to hold him in place.

"God, don't stop," I said, welcoming the pleasure that continued to grow with each push and pull. I could feel the tension coiling inside me. "I'm so close, Edward."

He reached between us and touched me, rubbing his thumb over my center. That did it, and I felt the ecstasy roll over me in waves. I didn't even realize I was crying out until Edward covered my mouth with his and silence filled the room.

My body was still thrumming with aftershocks when he clutched me by the hips and gave one final push, groaning into my mouth. I felt his shoulders tremble under my hands, and he buried his head in the crook of my neck as the last of the shudders racked his body. He finally stilled, his breaths slowly returning to normal.

I ran my fingers through his hair, and he all but purred. I knew the sentiment too well; I was tingling, my heart full, warm and content.

He dropped a light kiss on my shoulder. "Bella?"

"Yeah?"

He pulled back and leveled his gaze, looking at me affectionately. _I could get lost in those eyes_. "I missed you."

"Me too," I replied, feeling warmth suffuse me.

He gently let me slide down the wall, helping me to stand. My feet had pins and needles with the lack of blood flow, but I was still able to stand. Mostly. We were both a little shaky as we got our clothing put to rights and then went to freshen up.

A couple of minutes later we returned to the scene. He hung up both of our jackets and my purse and then leaned in for a kiss. "Did I hear that you aren't due back to work until 1:30?"

"That's right. It's my reward for being a good sport, I think."

"About what?"

"Working with the boss's daughter," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Ah, was that who that was?"

"Yeah, that was my boss Donna's daughter, Jessica. She fancies herself a part-time florist for a couple of days a year."

He smiled knowingly. "What about the other days of the year?"

"She's a mostly out-of-work actress. Maybe you've seen her in a commercial? She had one out for teeth whitening strips a few months ago."

"Hmm. No, I don't think so. But I didn't really get a good look, either. I wasn't there to see her."

"Oh," I said softly, pleased to hear it.

"She gets on your nerves a little bit?"

"It can be difficult." I shook my head a little. "Sorry, it's probably very unprofessional of me to even bring this up at all. Just forget I said anything."

He laughed. "Bella, there's hardly a lack of professionalism here. I did ask you, and I'm not a customer of the shop any longer."

_What about other flower shops? _ I felt the words on the tip of my tongue but refused to say them aloud.

"Anything you want to tell me about, I wish you would. I'm interested if it concerns you, good or bad."

It meant a lot to hear that, and I couldn't help grinning with comfort.

We went over and sat on the couch, facing each other. Then, since he did ask, I went ahead and told him about my morning so far. He laughed at appropriate times, cringed at others, and listened intently to my complaints. I got to the point in my story where he came in, and he just shook his head.

"I'm sorry you've had such a hellish morning, Bella."

"Oh, I don't know," I said, smiling at him. "Things are definitely starting to look up."

"I would have to agree," he said, smirking back at me.

"I guess your week has been pretty busy?" I tried to keep any accusation or trace of hurt out of my voice, though I certainly felt some.

He nodded. "It's normally like that for the most part with work, but this week has been more difficult than most."

"Why's that? I mean, if you can and want to talk about it." I found I was genuinely interested.

"Well, I stay busy with work. That and the lack of time for any real personal life have never really bothered me before, to be honest. But, I don't know, lately I can think of other, better ways to spend what should be my free time."

I felt the warmth flood my cheeks, surprised at that response. "Oh yeah? Have you taken up badminton or something?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Bella, Bella."

I smirked and adjusted myself on the couch. I laid my feet out in front of me, and he absent-mindedly grabbed and started to rub one. I felt like I would melt into a puddle and slide right off of the couch. Not a minute later, right on cue, my stomach growled. I would normally be embarrassed, but I guess I was just too relaxed.

Chuckling again, Edward said, "Okay, we need food. Do you want me to go pick something up? Or do you want to go out?"

Hunger aside; I was perfectly content right where we were. "I don't suppose you know a good place that would bring the food to us?"

He thought for a minute. "Yeah, actually, I know a great sandwich place that delivers. I have their number in my phone, I think. I'll order something."

"I could call and order," I piped up. "Since your hands are _so_ busy right now and all." I smiled coyly.

He smirked back at me, reaching with one hand into his pants pocket to retrieve his phone and handing it to me. "Fair point," he said, resuming my massage.

I was a little taken aback at how easily he handed over his cell phone to me, but acted like it was no big thing. I scrolled through his phonebook, doing my best to disregard any names that seemed remotely female, until I found an entry marked "JJ's Sandwiches". I asked Edward what he wanted and called and placed an order for us both.

"They said twenty to twenty-five minutes," I said, closing his phone and handing it back to him. Reluctantly, I pulled my feet away from his miraculous hands and put them on the floor, standing up. "Want some chips or something while we wait?"

"Sure."

We talked and munched until the sandwiches arrived and then had an indoor picnic on the living room floor. Yes, I had a perfectly good dining room table we could have used, but we were quite comfortable on the floor. Between Edward and the food, I'd had two of my primal needs satisfied. The next hour flew by as we talked, and soon it was time to go. I went to the bathroom to make sure I looked presentable, straightening my blouse and skirt. I wondered if Alice had foreseen my afternoon going like this when she picked out my clothes this morning. Smiling to myself, I went back out to where Edward was waiting.

We pulled up and parked on the street in front of Eternally Yours around 1:23. I expected him to just be dropping me off, but he got out of the car as well, coming around to my side to hold my door and close it after me. I walked around to the front of his car and turned around to face him.

"Well, thank you for lunch."

He smiled crookedly. "Not a problem. Thank you for the good…company." His eyes darkened a little, and I was reminded of just how nice an afternoon we had.

"You too," I said, feeling my cheeks get warm.

He leaned in closer, a couple of inches from my nose. "As much as I would love to see if that blush is spreading everywhere," he said his voice suddenly husky, "I think we both have to get back to work."

"That is unfortunate," I replied back in a similar tone. "Because I'd love to show you that it _most definitely is_."

His eyebrows raised, his irises going a shade darker. "Vixen," he chastised, and I knew that he'd probably be thinking about me all day. It only seemed fair, since I'd be doing the same for him.

I winked playfully at him and tried to lighten things up a little before we got ourselves arrested for public indecency. "Any plans for the weekend?"

"I've got to drive to Portland tomorrow evening to meet a prospective client." He made the 'what can you do' face. "She won't be in town again until December, unfortunately. I'll probably have to stay overnight."

_Stay overnight? __**She**__?_

"Oh," I said, a little deflated. Attempting to cover up any disappointment in my voice, although over what I wasn't entirely sure yet, I started babbling. As I do. "Well, that's bigger than my plans. I'm going to attempt to resuscitate my truck this weekend with an oil change, and maybe some new filters. Probably end up making things worse, though I'm not sure that's actually possible. Anyway, it's super exciting stuff."

He gave me a crooked smile. "I didn't know you were mechanically inclined, Bella."

"I can do some routine maintenance stuff, nothing too difficult."

"Still," he said, leaning closer to me. "That's pretty sexy."

_BAM, BAM, BAM!_

I jumped and we both looked over at the front door of the flower shop to see Jessica standing there with a ridiculous expression on her face. She had one hand on her hip and held up her other arm, shaking her watch at us. I turned back to Edward, rolling my eyes.

"Wow," he said.

"I know. That's pretty obnoxious, even for her." I sighed. "But I guess I do need to head back."

"All right." He reached for my hand and held it in his own, brushing his thumb lightly over my palm. I felt little sparks. "If you don't have plans for Sunday, can I call you?"

I was a little flustered still from the hand holding, but after a second said, "Sure. That'd be great." I wanted to kiss him goodbye but I glanced over and noticed Jessica was still standing there, watching us. I turned back around, annoyed that I wasn't going to get that kiss after all.

Edward noticed my disappointment, glanced at Jessica, then turned back to me and leaned in. His lips touched mine with a tenderness that I felt through my entire body, taking my breath away. I was slightly lightheaded after, but still managed to return his smile. He stroked my cheek and leaned in for a second fleeting kiss. "I'll see you soon, Bella."

"Goodbye, Edward." I regretfully let go of him and walked back towards work. I saw Jessica's deflated face, and had to fight back a grin. _Ha!_

* * *

While putting together an arrangement of carnations and lilies, I took a moment to reflect on how my afternoon went. Edward and I had only made love the once, unlike the marathon we had last time we were together, so I thought maybe it was a positive sign that there was more to this relationship than just sex. That maybe it wasn't just a bed thing. However, that cynical voice inside me offered up the alternative theory that maybe he was just growing tired of me and about to move on to another of his flower recipients. I silenced it best I could and reminded myself that Edward and I didn't really have a commitment, and that was fine.

_It's fine._

While I was chanting this mantra to myself, Jessica came over to my workspace. She had suspiciously been avoiding being near me ever since I got back from lunch. No complaints here.

"So, did you have a nice _long_ lunch?"

I didn't rise to the bait, rather smiled at her. "Yes I did thanks."

"Your friend – Edward was it?" I nodded. "He seemed very _nice_."

I caught the inflection on the last word, but just continued smiling. "That's right, he is."

"He is just a friend, isn't he?"

This was a valid question and one that I'd been asking myself for awhile now. Was Edward just a friend to me?

_No, he's not._

I smiled to myself and then remembered that she was still waiting for an answer. Deflection seemed best. "Well, what do you think?"

She waited a little bit, presumably waiting on me to give her anything more. Finally realizing that I wasn't, she stomped off in a huff.

* * *

Towards closing time Jessica decided she was already done for the day, and went outside to go to a clothing consignment store a couple of blocks away. I started sweeping up the main floor and arrangement space when Donna approached me. "Great work today, Bella."

I smiled at her and held the broom still, showing that she had my attention. "Thanks. It was a pretty good day." I would not have thought it earlier this morning, but this was definitely one of the better days I'd had lately. Jessica's avoidance of me in the afternoon and steady orders throughout the day made it go by rather quickly, too.

"Jess and I are coming in again to work tomorrow, you should take the day off."

"Are you sure? I mean, it is a normal work day and I don't want to – "

"Yes, I am sure. You got a lot done today and prepped for tomorrow, so I'm certain that the two of us can handle things."

_I'm sure that's true, but only one of you will actually be doing any work. _

"Well, okay I will. Thank you, Donna."

"You're welcome, dear. This way you can start your weekend a little early. Maybe spend some more time with that handsome young man that was here before?"

I blushed, of course, and she smiled and actually hugged me this time.

* * *

Happy about my unexpected day off, I decided to go ahead today and get the stuff I needed to change my oil tomorrow morning. It always seemed easiest to do car maintenance when it was early and bright, before it got too warm. I told Alice my plans when she got home, and she decided we should make a trip of it and take her car. She had some new boots to return to a store not far from the auto parts place. We headed out after a quick dinner.

"You seem in a great mood today. Did you have the good luck I anticipated?"

I didn't realize it, but I guess maybe I was smiling a little more that evening. Voluntarily, even. "Well, the day started off kind of shitty. Remember Jessica, Donna's daughter? She was at the shop all day today, supposedly to help me out."

Alice nodded. "She's the actress, right? How was that?"

"If it's any indication, I was very close to burying myself in potting soil before noon."

Alice laughed. "Sorry! Well, what about after lunch?"

"Well, she was still there when I got back, but didn't bother me as much. Of course Donna was there too, and she's a great buffer. Having the unexpected day off also helps the mood."

"Yeah, I guess it would! So, you went out for lunch?"

"Yep, I just came home and ate."

"I noticed we're out of chips." She smirked at me. "I hope you ate more than that?"

"Yes, Alice. I had a club sandwich, delivered from some place called JJ's."

"I'm sure it was good to get out of that environment for awhile, but it must have been one tasty sandwich to turn your mood around like that," she said, looking at me suspiciously.

"It was. A _very_ tasty sandwich."

She looked back at the road as we pulled up in the parking lot of the auto store. She parked and turned the car off, then spun to face me. "Isabella, what aren't you telling me?"

"Hey, I'm answering your questions!" I said, holding up my hands in mock surrender.

She tried to look stern, but then we both started laughing.

"All right, so maybe I left out the bit about my lunch companion. Edward came and picked me up at the shop, and we came back to the house to eat."

She looked pleased with that response, as though she already knew what I would say. "I take it the visit was a good one?" I nodded. "So then my outfit choice for you must have been helpful after all?"

"Well, the skirt did save us a few precious seconds…" I said, before I could catch myself. Alice had always been able to make me say more than I wanted to. Her eyes got big and she smiled like the cat that ate the canary. I grabbed my door handle and opened it while blurting out, "Let's go shopping!"

I knew this wasn't the end of the subject, but I also knew she wasn't the type to talk about something so private in a public place like this, either. I was safe for a few minutes at least, which was good since I really wasn't sure how to answer the questions I knew were coming.

I jogged into the store, grabbed a hand basket, and headed for the oil aisle. The place was kind of busy, but there were about six employees in bright red vests milling about. I walked over to the guide book that tells what size filter you need by make and model and looked up my old truck. Finding the info I needed, I went and grabbed the filter off of a shelf, and six quarts of oil. I went ahead and grabbed a new air filter as well, since I'd already be under the hood and what could it hurt. My basket now full, I walked towards the registers. Alice met me at the end of the row. Not surprised because she could find something to buy at any type of store, she had a designer seat cover in her hand. I looked at it and smirked, knowing it was totally unnecessary and just her style.

"All done?" she asked.

"Yep," I said, getting in line behind a couple of other people.

After a few seconds, Alice leaned closer to me. "You know what, Bella?" she asked, a lilt to her voice. "Under these fluorescent lights, your skin is positively glowing."

I shot her a glare, but couldn't put much menace behind it. "You think so, do you?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "I really do. Can we attribute that to the tasty sandwich at lunch as well?"

I had to fight to keep a straight face. "No, dear friend, I think we can attribute that to the fact that you obviously need some glasses."

"Now Bella, you know as well as I do that I have great _vision_," she said, extra emphasis at the end.

I shook my head at her, and then heard "I can help whoever's next." Thankful for that, I scurried up to the register and started unloading my basket.

"How are you today, ma'am?"

I looked up to see a cute guy with a baby face smiling at me across the counter. He had longish dark hair pulled back at the nape of his neck, and a sweet smile. "I'm fine, thanks. You?"

"Pretty good." He looked down at what I unloaded and started to ring everything up. "Ah, oil change. You got somebody doing it for you?"

_Hey, that sounded kind of sexist. _I felt a little indignant and started to protest. "I – "

"Because if you need some help, I could do it. No charge or anything." He smiled brightly.

_Oh. _This guy – Jake according to his name badge – no longer seemed like a sexist pig, just a very hopeful boy.

"I appreciate the offer, but I think I've got it."

"You change your own oil?" he asked, his eyebrows lifted.

I nodded.

"That is _so_ hot," he said, his voice low.

My eyes went wide and I couldn't help the grin that broke out on my face.

"Uh, I mean – that's good that you know how to maintain your…err, let me get you some reminder stickers!"

I almost laughed at his total change in demeanor, but it was kind of endearing. While he was busy bagging up my purchases, Alice whispered in my ear, "Looks like I'm not the only one noticing your glow today."

I ignored her and paid for my purchases with my credit card. He watched me sign and then handed me a receipt, big smile back on his face.

"There you go! Have a good one, and please do come again."

"Thanks, I will." I took my purchases and hurried outside to wait for Alice.

* * *

The next morning I woke up just before nine. Not quite sleeping in, but my internal clock was pretty consistent during the week. I made myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast, ate quickly, and then hurried back to my closet. I dug out some holey jeans and an old sweatshirt to wear, and put my hair back in a tight ponytail. My last accessory was an old Mariners ball cap that I had liberated from my dad when I moved out, and then I was ready to go. I grabbed the bags of oil and filters and walked out into a bright, sunny morning. The weather was brisk and a little cool, but I knew I would be warming up soon enough. Taking a deep breath, I got to work.

Nearly two hours later, I finally finished. Just in time, because it was starting to get cloudy and overcast outside. I crossed my fingers on one hand and turned the ignition key with the other and heard the beautiful sound of my truck starting up. It was still as loud and rumbling as ever, but it really was music to my ears. I gave a little "woohoo" and shut it off. I cleaned up all the empty cartons and trash, and then went in to clean up myself.

While I was showering, I heard the house phone ring. I knew the machine would get it, so I ignored it and continued shaving my legs. Clean, smooth and dry, I dressed and went in to the living room. I received a new book I had pre-ordered in the mail yesterday, the last of a series I had read from the beginning, and I decided to get a start on that.

A few pages in, my cell phone rang. A quick glance showed it was my mom.

"Hey Mom."

"Hi Bella! Is this a good time? Are you busy?"

"I'm actually off today and just hanging out at home, so it's fine. How are you?"

"Doing great! Phil and I just got back from a few days in Chicago." Phil was my stepdad, and he was a semi-professional athlete. He did have to travel to away games, and my mom often went with him if she was free. She loved everything about traveling, and she really loved Phil, so she definitely married the right man. Well, eventually anyway.

"The Windy City; sounds fun. Did Phil's team win?"

"Unfortunately, no, but we still had a good time! I managed to get all of my Christmas shopping done, and a little for myself, too."

"I bet you did," I said, smirking. She liked to shop in the way that Alice did. I was sure that all those hours I spent waiting on her go through every clothes rack at a store when I was younger were really just a primer for hanging out with Alice much later on. Whereas my mom was a clothes-horse, though, Alice was more of a clothes-Clydesdale. But I adored the both of them, so I dealt with it.

"And how are you, dearest daughter?"

"I'm doing fine."

"Just fine?" She was fishing.

"Yeah, just fine. Why?"

"Well, I heard you were seeing someone."

_What? How in the world did she…_Alice_. _

I sighed. "You have, huh? Let me guess, an annoying little blackbird told you?" She didn't reply. "What else have you heard?"

"Not a whole lot, Bella. He does sound like a really nice guy, though."

"You're only just heard of him, Mom."

"I heard he sent you flowers. How many men do that?"

_Maybe not many since Edward seems to have that market cornered. _

"He sent me an orchid, and we've been out a couple of times." Okay, so maybe we've only been out in public the once together, but my mom didn't need to know all that.

"Well, he must be a nice guy otherwise I doubt you'd want to spend any time with him at all."

"He is nice." There really didn't seem much point arguing that because he was.

"Good looking?"

_He is dazzling. _"Yeah, he is nice and he's also nice to look at." I looked out the window and noticed it was pouring rain.

"All right, Bella, enough with the inquisition," she said, deciding either to cut me a break or that was all the information she could pry out of me just then. "Let me tell you what we saw in Chicago…"

* * *

I decided around noon to go out and test the truck. It had stopped raining by then, and I was hungry, so I thought I'd go get something to eat. Maybe I would surprise Alice with some lunch from one of our favorite places. I dressed casually in some jeans and a long-sleeved tee, grabbing my purse and jacket on the way out.

Miracle of miracles, the truck started again on the first try. Off I went, mentally patting myself on the back for seeming to resuscitate my truck.

The blacktop was mostly dry on the main roads, but there were still some puddles on the sides. The sun was trying to come back out, though, so I was sure they'd dry up soon enough. I got to Café Piccolo and parked behind the building, where their customer parking lot was located. I went around to their front door, facing a fairly busy street, and walked in. My mouth watered almost immediately as I was bombarded with the smells that come from a great Italian restaurant's kitchen.

When my turn in line came up, I ordered baked spaghetti for Alice and baked ravioli for me, along with some garlic bread. I was asked my name so they could call me when it was ready, and my answer seemed to please the older Italian man who waited on me.

"Molto bella!" he said, winking at me. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few extra garlic sticks in my bag.

I smiled at him. "Grazi," I replied, showcasing the minimal Italian that I knew. I paid and went to stand to the side of the counter.

I got my order finally, and another quick wink from the Italian gentleman, and headed outside in a pretty great mood. The sun was trying to come out again, too, so that helped. I glanced across the street and saw an older couple walking, hand in hand. They stopped in front of a restaurant, and he held the door for her with one hand while keeping a hold of hers with the other. I found it very sweet, and smiled. He looked over and caught my eye and smiled back when he saw me watching.

I continued to watch as they both went inside, and then I had a fleeting thought about Edward. He was supposed to go out of town today and be gone for the next couple of days, so maybe I would call him before he left. I looked down for a second while rifling around in my purse for my phone. My hand closed around it just as I heard a screeching sound of brakes. I looked up and gasped as I saw an out-of-control car hydroplaning right at me. I felt an impact, and then darkness consumed me.

**My good friend Bec has graciously agreed to beta the rest of this story for me, so big thanks to her for everything! I'm hoping that the longest chapter so far will make up for the past due update and cliffhanger ending. Let me know if you're still with me and what you thought!**


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